If Only You Knew
by crystal.elements
Summary: Phil and Keely were always friends, but who would think that they'd fall in love with each other...without even knowing it? Irony wins over this fanfiction as Keely and Phil try to tell each other how they really feel!
1. Internal Confessions

**hey guys! this is my very first fanfiction, so please help me out and review! i don't know why, but for some reason the show Phil of the Future is really, really good, and i love it! i would love to meet Ricky or Alyson one day, but seeing that i live in hawaii, i really don't think that would ever happen. a girl can dream, though! lol...anyways, i'm writing this fanfiction because the actual show takes so long to get to the point that Keely and Phil obviously have the hots for each other. so i thought, why not twist it up myself? hopefully i have enough time to actually do this. so i hope you enjoy my story, "If Only You Knew"!**

**Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own any of the characters of the show. Wish I did, though. ;P**

_**If Only You Knew**_

**Chapter One: Internal Confessions**

Keely Teslow fell onto her bed and sighed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Phil had just taken her for a ride on his skyak, and she was still in a daze. Almost a year had passed since Keely found out about Phil Diffy's secret - that he and his entire family was actually from the future and had lived in the year 2121. It was probably the best thing that ever happened to the fifteen-year-old girl... she was best friends with a boy who owned gadgets that did things she never dreamed possible, not to mention the boy just happened to be the sweetest, nicest, and funniest guy she had ever met. She never knew she would score a friend like Phil. But that was all they were, right? Just friends? As Keely laid there on her bed, her thoughts started forming.

_' Are we really just friends? I mean, I know we're closer than normal friends would be, but that's only because Phil's, well, from a whole different time, and there's so much I learn from him every day. Not to mention that he's totally sweet, he always has a way of making me laugh, he's always there when I need him, and he's so cute---'_

She gasped. _'Wait...where the heck did THAT come from? I don't think that he's...' _ An image of Phil flashed through her mind, showing off his goofy smile, as he held the top of his tennis racquet after winning another tiebreaker of tennis. _'...cute...'_

Oh God. She did think Phil was cute. Keely lifted herself off her bed and walked towards her dresser, where a framed picture of Phil and herself was placed. She picked up the picture and went back to her bed, slowly sitting on the edge and staring at both of their smiling faces.

She always seemed to be content when Phil was around, that was for sure. He was always there to help make her feel better if she was in a moody state. In fact, he helped her out more than she had realized. He was always there to tutor her in Algebra and Geometry, although it was still like he was talking to a brick wall since she still didn't really get it. And he always helped them get good grades on group projects by using a few of his many futuristic gadgets. He had also helped her overcome her fear of singing in front of an audience, even if it meant shrinking himself and falling into an ice cream wrapper. Heck, he even had tried to protect her from Tanner when he found out that the guy was cheating on her. If she had listened to Phil, she probably wouldn't have had her heart broken. It seemed like he was always there for her, no matter what...

Why didn't she realize it before? Was there really more between her and Phil than she thought there was? Then something caught Keely's eye as she stared at her own face in the picture. Phil had his arm around her, and her own hand snaked up, holding it. Her smile seemed happier than in any other picture she had of herself, and her eyes had a distinct sparkle in them. But what she noticed the most was a tint of light pink that flushed her cheeks. Was she...blushing? There was no mistaking it. Even if she had been wearing makeup that day, it wouldn't have blocked what was visible in the picture.

Keely just couldn't believe it. How could she have not noticed this? The realization hit her like a whack to the head.

_'He's not just my friend...I actually...I think...I'm in love with him...'_

She sat there, staring blankly into space for a moment, lost in her own thoughts.

_'Oh, great. Just great. First Phil's my friend, and next thing you know, I'm in love with him. No...it's been there for a while...it didn't happen overnight...' _Keely sighed and fell back against her bed once again. A memory of the past year, when she had been catering at the mayor's party, dropped into her mind. Phil had been there as well, though he wasn't with her. Instead he was with the girl he liked at the time, who just happened to be the mayor's daughter. Keely didn't know why, but she was incredibly jealous and even confessed it to Phil when she had the chance to be alone with him. Unfortunately, he wasn't himself...for some weird reason, he was acting like some sort of...caveman. After he wrecked the entire party and his date dumped him, though, she had been there to cheer him up and even ended up dancing with him. Maybe she fell in love with him then? But as Keely's mind wandered farther, she realized it could've been before that. She might have liked Phil from the start, from the moment he took her in his arms and started dancing with her at Otto's Pink Pig, and it had just grown after that.

_'Okay, so I love Phil...it's not that big...'_

It could've ended there...but it didn't. It got worse. The mind sucks sometimes, because you can't stop it once it's on a roll. And that's exactly what happened to Keely.

_'Oh damn...it IS a big deal! How am I gonna face Phil now that I've got everything figured out? Oh God...I'm not supposed to fall in love with my best friend! This could change our whole entire friendship! And I can't even begin to THINK about what could happen if...if...Oh my God, what'll happen to me if Phil has to go back to the future!'_

Her head was going to explode soon if she didn't calm down. And to say that she was freaking out would be a huge understatement. If the phone hadn't rang at that moment, her head probably WOULD'VE exploded. The shrill rings pulled Keely out of her thoughts for the moment, and she picked herself off the bed once again and grabbed the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey Keel!"

Her heart dropped. "Ph-Phil?" she sqeaked.

"Yeah...hey, are you okay? You sound a bit...shaken. What's up?" he asked with concern.

"N-no, I'm fine, really..." she lied quickly. "How about you? What's wrong?"

Phil's voice still held concern, but he continued anyway. "Well, you left your jacket at my house before we went skyaking, so I was wondering if you wanted me to stop by and---"

"No!" Keely answered a little too quickly, heart racing.

"Keel..."

"I mean, it's okay, Phil, you don't have to do that...um, we have school tomorrow, you can give it to me then. I don't want to inconvenience you or anything." she explained, hoping that her voice wouldn't crack soon.

"But Keel, I'm only a block away---"

"No, it's okay, I don't need it now!"

"Okay, Keely, I'll give it to you tomorrow...you sure you're okay?" Phil asked again, still worried.

"Y-yeah, don't worry about me, it's nothing, really..."

"Okay...I'll see you tomorrow, then. Bye..."

"Bye..." Keely whispered, and hung up the phone. Her heart was still beating out of control, so she started taking deep breaths. Still holding the phone tight in her hand, she laid back down on her bed, laying her free hand across her stomach.

_'If this is how I act towards Phil on the phone, how will I deal with him tomorrow? I just have to calm down. He's still my friend, it's not like everything has changed between us. I'll just have to act normal. At least, I'll try. Who knows? Maybe he likes me too.' _She laughed shortly. _'Yeah, and then we'll go out and live happily ever after. Right.' _She shook her head and yawned, dropping the phone on the ground and reaching for her pillow. _'He probably has better things to think about. He wouldn't be thinking of me.'_

Keely turned her lights out and went to sleep. Not surprisingly, Phil plagued her dreams that night.

**---------------------**

A block away, Phil Diffy was sitting on his bed, lost in thought.

_'Well, that was weird. What was wrong with Keel? It sounded like...she knew something. Maybe she figured out that she means more to me than she thinks?' _he shook his head and laughed bitterly. _'Nah. She probably just wanted to sleep or something. Hard to believe I actually love her. I wish...she felt the same...' _Phil rolled his eyes. _'Yeah, right. She's probably not even close to dreaming about me.' _He fell across his bed and snapped, and the lights went off in a flash. He drifted to sleep with thoughts of Keely swirling in his mind.

It's funny, how irony works sometimes...

**-----------------------**

**A/N: okay, that was the first chappie! how was it? hopefully it wasn't as corny as i thought it was. well, okay then. please review! i don't know if i should continue this story or not!**


	2. Nightmares

**wow! i'm absolutely AMAZED, really! in one day i wasnt even expecting reviews, but i actually got quite a few! its such an inspiration! thank you so much, you guys! **

**anyways, im so totally sorry about updating so late! i went on an offisland trip to honolulu and kauai for a week, so i couldnt get on a computer! but i brought along a tablet so i could brainstorm on there, but then i had to come home and type it all up, too. so ya. ill try to update faster for you guys. bummer is that i have two book reports to do and school starts up in three weeks! ill get my laptop soon, though, so ill try to do this as much as possible.**

**oh yes, and to answer Chocolate - 4 - brains's comment...im sorry about the age thing. i always thought that Keely would be fifteen in the show cause she's in ninth grade, but i did calculations and realized that she probably really isnt sixteen yet. again, sorry about that! ill try to remember to fix it!**

**Disclaimer: YES! I OWN THEM! I OWN THEM ALL! wakes up from dream aw, dammit...never mind... **

_**If Only You Knew**_

**Chapter Two: Nightmares**

**-----**

_She was at a class party, though for what, she had no idea. But as lights dimmed and music started softly playing, the thought was forgotten. Arms encircled her waist, pulling her flush against someone behind her, and with a startled gasp she turned to see who the person was. Although she visibly relaxed, her voice still held confusion and her cheeks were slightly flushed in embarassment as she asked, "Phil? What're you doing?" _

_The boy didn't answer, and she noticed something different about him. His eyes...they held...infatuation? Love? Whatever it was, it was causing her to lose her mind, to forget about everything but him._

_'No...this isn't like him...it's wrong...I can't...I...'_

_It was too late. Her last attempt in gaining control faded, and she lost herself in his arms as they swayed to the music. Everyone else was forgotten and became a blur. She was truly content, being with the one she loved, and yet there was something nagging at the very back of her mind. She gazed into his eyes with slight bewilderment as the nagging became louder, more clear...but he started to loom closer, his face merely inches away from her own..._

_'He's...he's going to kiss me...' she thought, as a little piece of her scrambled mind found its way back. The nagging became clear, she could hear it now:_

_"It's not real..."_

_She didn't care anymore. She wanted this more than anything. As the nagging disappeared and her thoughts melted away, she closed her eyes, waiting, as his face loomed even closer._

_But the kiss didn't come._

_"Get off her, Diffy, she's mine!"_

_She yelped as she was yanked away and held firmly against someone else, watching with a mixture of shock and fear as her best friend went rigid. His gaze turned hard. "Let her go, Tanner." he demanded coldly, and she gasped, trying to squirm away from the boy behind her._

_Tanner laughed, sneering. "Give it up, Diffy, Keely's way too good for you."_

_She watched on as the boy across from her, as quick as lightning, pulled out a gadget as if from nowhere. "Oh?" he replied, an evil glint in his eyes. "And what makes you think you're any better for her?"_

_He aimed the gadget above her head, at the boy still holding her tightly, ready to fire at any moment. "Believe me, after this, she won't even want to look at you."_

_It was then that her mind clicked back into place. "No!" she screamed. "Phil, don't!"_

_It was too late._

_The New Ager's beam hit Tanner instantly as the bright, luminescent light engulfed them both. The grip on her finally loosened, and she ripped herself away as the light started to fade, backing up in horror._

_In Tanner's place stood a frail, wrinkled man, slightly hunched and staring at her with sullen eyes. He looked around his nineties, maybe even older. She forced herself to look away, but to her dismay it was only getting worse._

_There was a deathly silence as she gazed around the room with dread. The music had stopped. Her classmates were gawking at the site before them, shock, surprise, amazement, and even terror sketched on their faces. She slowly turned to face the boy behind her...the boy she fell in love with, her best friend from the future. She stared at him in disbelief, trying to calculate the unreadable expression on his face._

_Suddenly a voice boomed, "We're moving, Phil. We have to leave this town. NOW."_

_She spun around and faced the open doorway, where three familiar people stood side by side. Pim was on the left, seemingly bored but enjoying the scene before her nonetheless. On the right was Barbara, horror etched in her features as she gazed into the room silently. And in the middle, looking as if he wanted to explode on the spot, stood Lloyd Diffy, shaking with fury as he glared daggers at his only son._

_She turned to face him again, losing all feeling in her legs as she did so. "No...no...you can't..." she whispered, eyes pleading. "Phil..."_

_He lowered his head, avoiding eye contact with her as he stared at his feet. "I'm so sorry, Keel..." he said quietly, slouching in defeat._

_Her eyes were burning; she could feel tears welling up as a lump formed in her throat. "No..."_

_"Goodbye, Keely."_

_"NO!" she screamed, as an unbearably bright light erupted all around her. "PHIL!" she shielded her eyes against the blinding light with one hand while her other one flailed around desperately, feeling for any trace of her beloved friend. The light finally started to fade, and when everything came back into focus the Diffy family was gone._

_It seemed like everyone else had forgotten about what had just happened. Memories of the Diffy's were literally erased from their minds; it was as if the family from the future had never existed. Confused teens stood around aimlessly, wondering what they were just doing, and before long the music had started up again and everything had gone back to normal. Even Tanner, who had converted back into his teenage self once again, was trying to impress a few ladies on the dance floor, unaware of what had just happened to him just moments earlier._

_She stood alone, off to the side, as silent sobs wracked her body, her tears already falling. She still remembered him, but he was gone. She would never see him again, and she didn't even say goodbye. She couldn't stand it. Her legs finally gave out and she collapsed on the spot, bowing her head. He was gone..._

**-----**

Keely woke up with a start, sitting up straight and breathing hard. When she looked around, though, she was hit with realization.

_'A...dream. It was only a dream. Thank God.'_

She blushed furiously, remembering how she had melted in Phil's arms and even almost kissed him, and she put a shaky hand to her head, laughing shortly.

_'Sure as hell FELT real.'_

Trying not to think about it (but of course, failing miserably), Keely fell back onto her pillow, willing herself to fall back asleep.

---------------------------------

"Dammit, Pim, quit hogging the bathroom, it's the third time THIS WEEK!" A very grumpy Phil roared, slumping against the bathroom door while trying to stay awake.

"SHUT YOUR PIEHOLE, I'M ALMOST DONE!" Pim yelled on the other side of the door, enjoying the torturing of her older brother once again. Still brushing her blonde hair as slowly as she possibly could, she suddenly yanked the door open and watched with glee as Phil crashed to the ground, looking dazed. Grabbing a can of Lysol, Pim walked past his body, spraying him as she went. "Lavender fresh and ready to go! Aren't I just the best sister ever?" She sighed dramatically, then dropped the can and closed the door, cackling evilly.

Phil groaned, slowly getting up off the bathroom floor. "I hate mornings," he muttered, scowling.

He stopped and sniffed himself, scowling even more.

"Scratch that. I hate Pim."

He'd find a way to get his little sister back later, making it a mental note as he got ready for another day of school. Still faintly smelling like lavenders, Phil snatched Keely's jacket on the way out the door and shot an innocent-looking Pim a dirty glance.

It was cold outside, for some odd reason, especially since it was nearing summertime. Phil shivered, holding Keely's jacket closer to his body as he slowly walked to school. He stopped, contemplating for the moment, as he stared at Keely's jacket. Sure, he could zap himself a jacket with one of the gadgets in his backpack...but wasn't it easier to just use what you already have? He knew he shouldn't, but he did anyway. Wrapping Keely's jacket around his shoulders, Phil quickly hurried to school with a goofy grin plastered on his face...one he just couldn't seem to wipe off.

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**A/N: okay, i know i cut the second half of the chapter short, but i have a major writer's block and i can't seem to think of anything else to type at the moment. the other thing is that i cant seem to think from a boy's perspective much, so its a little harder for me to write in Phil's point of view. i do have a few ideas for some other upcoming chappies, though, so dont worry! anyways, thanks you guys! please dont forget to review!**


	3. Frustrations and Future Tutors

**hey you guys!**

**sorry this chappie took so long to update. im such a procrastinater, i couldnt go on the internet unless i finished my book reports for school, and i ended up finishing my reports the night before school started, so i couldnt work on this at all. yes, its all my fault, i blame myself...soooooorrrrrrrryyyyyyyy! anyways, onto other things, ive been watching the newer episodes of phil of the future, and its starting to get a little harder for me to stay as relevant to the series as possible because now phil and keely are starting to come together with the dance episode and everything. so ill continue using scenes or parts from the episodes in my story, but i might not use the newer episodes because it might mess up my plot. im not sure yet...if i can find a way to put the dance and other new episodes into my story i will! also, on a final note, thank you so much for sending so many reviews after only two chapters! i feel so encouraged...i love you guys!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Phil of the Future, I'd be making new scripts and episodes, not putting it up on a fanfic site. waaaahhhh...**

_**If Only You Knew**_

**Chapter Three: Frustrations and Future Tutors**

Keely groaned as she dragged herself to her locker, blinking sleepily as she stifled yet another yawn. After fiddling with her combination lock for about half a minute, she finally opened her locker and clumsily foraged through the miscellaneous junk for her Geometry book. After that nightmare last night, Keely hadn't been able to fall asleep and therefore had nothing else to do but lose herself in her own thoughts. They had mostly been centered around the dream and what had happened, and the rest of her thoughts had pretty much just swirled around the subject of "Phil."

_'God, I never thought I could spend so much time thinking about just one guy!' _Keely thought as she tossed a sandal aside, still searching her locker for the book. _'Especially Phil! Since when have I ever been obsessed? Well...there was that time Tanner---'_

She scoffed in disgust, remembering the dream again, and rummaged through her stuff with a little more force.

_'Ugh, but he's such a jerk! I can't believe he did that, it was so unfair, I was so close to kissing Phil---'_

Realizing what she had just thought, Keely blushed crimson as she pushed some papers out of her locker.

_'Aah! There I go again, thinking about Phil! And why did I just think that, it was a DREAM! Ohmigosh, I need to sleep, I can't think straight---WHERE IS MY STUPID GEOMETRY BOOK!'_

She sighed in exasperation, slamming her locker shut and leaning her back against it. _'This wouldn't be so hard for me if I hadn't had that dream with---'_

"Phil!" Keely stood up straight, or at least she tried to, as her best friend walked up to her, holding her jacket.

"Hey Keel! I got your---whoa. What's up with you?" Phil asked as Keely slumped back against her locker, yawning again. "You look almost as bad as the last time we used the Giggle!"

She laughed shortly, rubbing her eye. "Well, it could've been worse." _'But thank God for makeup,' _she thought to herself, remembering her reaction when she saw the black rings under her eyes while getting ready that morning. She grinned sleepily, and before she knew it her eyes were closing and she was slowly sliding towards the ground.

"Keely!" Phil reacted in an instant, grabbing her arm and holding her steady. "Keel, what the heck is wrong with you!"

He shook her arm lightly and her eyes fluttered open, looking dazed as she stared at him. Then, glancing down at her arm, she blushed lightly and pulled away from his warm touch, looking away. "Sorry," she said quickly. "Just tired. I slept for like, four hours last night." _'And please don't ask why,' _she added silently, closing her eyes and biting her lower lip.

Phil gazed at Keely, confused. Why was she acting all weird again? "Oh," he said, pushing the thought away for the moment. "Well, I hope you can stay awake long enough to take our Geometry test today. You didn't forget, did you?" He opened his locker and easily found his Geometry book, being so organized and all---

Then jumped ten feet out of his skin as Keely let out a shrill shriek.

"WHAT! Ohmigod, I did forget! I need to study, I only have ten minutes left until class starts, but I can't find my book, I checked my entire locker...Ohmigod, ohmigod..." Keely spun around and tore open her locker again, tossing up a storm and on the verge of hyperventilating.

Phil arched his eyebrows in amusement, watching his best friend freak, and a grin spread across his face.

_'Well, at least she's back to her normal ditzy self.'_

"Uh, Keel...then maybe you should check your bag."

Keely froze, halfway through chucking an eraser out of her locker, and turned to look at Phil. She glanced down and slowly picked up her schoolbag, which had unnoticeably slipped off her shoulder during all the commotion, and zipped it open. A look of both embarassment and relief crossed her face as she pulled out her book, and she quickly closed her bag and slung it back onto her shoulder. Then, without thinking, Keely rushed up to her best friend and hugged him with a whispered, "Thanks!"

Caught completely off-guard, a surprised Phil reached up his arms and awkwardly hugged her back, melting in his own happiness. Unfortunately it didn't last long, because a second later Keely caught a whiff of his "perfume" and abruptly pulled away, a suspicious shade of light pink but confused nonetheless. "Phil, if you wanted to smell nice you really could have asked me...but lavenders so totally don't match you," she told him, eyeing him with a weird expression.

"Hey---no, it's not---" Before he could even reply, though, Keely had already closed her locker and was walking to class with her Geometry book opened in her hands. "Sorry, Phil, gotta jet!" she said cheerfully, looking back at him. "Studying, remember?" With that, she quickened her pace and walked through the classroom door, leaving Phil alone to clean up her mess and wonder what the heck was going on.

-----------------------------------------

"Via, you have GOT to help me, I think I'm going nuts!" Keely said in frustration as she placed her books neatly in her now-clean and organized locker at the end of school. The day had gone by horribly. Keely had been so tired during first period that she had fallen asleep during the Geometry test and ultimately failed it. The teacher (forgot her name, sorry) told her that she had to make it up for half credit tomorrow or else she would fail the class, then assigned Phil to be her tutor so she could study and understand the questions a little better. She already had a hard time dealing with him for one day, but now this? Luckily he hadn't really noticed how flushed she was that morning after she had hugged him; she had bolted before he could even mention anything. But something would definitely go wrong if she was with him at his house after school, and there wouldn't be any chance of hiding this time.

"Honestly, Keely, what is wrong with you today?" Via replied in her strong English accent, leaning against her locker as she watched Keely slam her locker door shut. "First of all, since when is it so hard to study with Phil, he's the best there is! And you're acting different around him too, you've been avoiding him all day!" She straightened up and turned to open her own locker, still looking at her best friend's gloomy face.

Keely sighed and turned to Via, realizing that she hadn't told her anything that had happened the night before. "Look, Via...I just...it's just harder for me now. I think---"

"Hello, ladies!" Owen suddenly popped in between them, and Via rolled her eyes. "Can the O-dawg interest you two in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Only half-eaten by the man himself!" he pulled out a ziploc bag holding a smashed brown square-shaped blob and dangled it in front of the girls' faces. Keely gently pushed it away with a look of disgust on her face as Via shook her head vigorously. "O-kay, but you're really missing out!" Owen said, grinning widely. "I'll be waiting if you change your minds!"

He started to leave, then looked over his shoulder at Keely. "Oh, yeah, and Diffy's waiting for you outside," he called to her. "Better get to him before he becomes an ice dude!" He then took a bite out of his sandwich and walked away, laughing.

Via groaned and turned back to look at Keely, who was silently watching Owen walk out of sight, and waved her hand in front of her friend's face. "So what were you saying again?" she asked when she finally got Keely's full attention.

Keely turned pink and flipped her blonde hair out of her face, knowing that she'd have to tell Via sooner or later. "I-I...um...I think..." she stammered, then lowered her voice to almost a whisper.

"I think I'm...I think I'm in love with Phil."

Via stared at her in silence with a blank expression, then suddenly burst out laughing. Keely's eyes widened. "What's so funny?" she cried, turning a shade darker as she watched her friend lean her head against her locker, still in fits. "Are you serious?" Via said incredulously, once she had settled down again. "You mean you just figured that out now, even after that whole ordeal during the Girl's Choice Dance and everything?"

"W-well, I wasn't really thinking about it, I was too worried about Phil going back to the---" Keely caught herself just in time and quickly changed her meaning, "...to Kansas!"

Via tucked her hair behind her ear, looking into the mirror on her locker door. "But even before that! You could tell you were into him, Keely, even I knew that when I first came here!" She put on lipgloss then turned to look at Keely again, smiling helplessly at her expression.

Keely put her head in her hands and sighed. "So what am I supposed to do now, then? I can't just face him after all this, especially since I'm pretty much aware of what I'm getting myself into!" She glanced up at Via, who seemed lost in thought for the moment. Finally she spoke.

"Is Phil still your friend?"

Keely stared at her as if she were dumb. "Um, yeah..."

"Does he know anything about this?"

"No," Keely answered again, still not getting Via's point.

Via grinned. "Then what's the problem? Act like yourself. As long as Phil doesn't know anything, you'll have nothing to worry about. An as for the love situation---" she paused as Keely cringed, "...just wait it out, see what happens. You never know...Phil just might feel the same!" She looked around, noticing for the first time that the halls were empty, and gasped. "Keely, you have to go! You're boyfriend's still waiting for you outside!" She closed her locker and pulled her friend along with her to the doors where Phil was waiting, giggling when Keely shot her a glare from that last comment. "I was joking!" she replied, smirking at Keely's moody expression.

---------------------------------------------

Phil was standing outside, leaning against the school wall, when suddenly the doors burst open and Via came out, pushing a flustered Keely ahead of her as she went. "Hey Phil," Via said brightly before he could say anything. "Look, I'm sorry, I'd walk with you two, but Owen's been bothering me about his sandwich all day, and I want to get home before he shows up again. Have fun studying with Keely!" She flashed a dazzling smile and rushed away, ignoring Keely's soft complaints.

Phil watched her go, then slowly turned to Keely, who wiped the dismay off her face and smiled nervously. "Soooooo..." she started, looking down the street. "We're going to your house, right?"

Phil grinned. "Yup. So d'you have your book this time, or do you need to check your locker just in case?"

Keely realized what he meant after a few seconds and shoved him playfully, eyes sparkling. When she wasn't thinking about him, she realized, hanging out with Phil was just as normal as before. Via was right. They headed down the steps together, laughing and talking like any other friends would do.

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**A/N: whew...finally finished that chappie. took me extremely long...writer's block really sucks. anyways, i'm brainstorming the next chapter as we speak, so dont forget to read and review! laters!**


	4. Author's Note

**hello peoples!**

**so very sorry...i take extremely long to update, dont i? well, now that schools started my homeworks already starting to pile up. i finally got my laptop, though! i can type when i have the time. if not, ill be sure to get some typing done over the weekends and hopefully get chapter four up really soon. until then, review, review! even if your not a member of this site, you can still review, people! i really love reviews, it helps me out a lot. ill take any critism to make my story better for you guys. really! so until then...see ya! **

**daydreamr'girl**


	5. Studying in the Snow

**yay! the fourth chapter is finally up!**

**well, cant think of anything to say right now, so ill just answer a few reviews then.**

**Catwoman15 – actually, I think youre right. you have to be 13 to become a member. but it cant be helped…people will break the rules sometimes. anyways, thanks for reading! i hope you have time to read the other chappies!**

**ShortyFaillace – yup! i live in HI! i don't think on the same island, tho…never heard of st. andrews or la pietra or anything like that…**

**GilmorePottergirl81529 – thanks for the comment! the reason i can actually write this story is because i actually like my best friend as well, and i deal with all the "does he like me" stuff. we're not going out or anything, though, which is why i have yet to figure out how to finally get phil and keely together in my fanfic. ill figure it out somehow. lol…**

**Emily - wait...swearing? i dont think i made keely swear...unless your counting the "damn" and "hell" stuff. if thats what you mean, then im sorry. ill try to avoid it next time. i just think its weird to have them say, "oh, darn it!" or something like that. it sounds corny. but yeah.**

**Yu-Lun - hey, miyoko-chan...are you ever gonna find the time to read my story? i mean, cmon, i know you have homework and all, i have classes with you! but could you take five minutes to just read and comment? jeez! lol...nah. i know youre not really a POTF fan anyways.**

**okie dokie then. onto the next chappie!**

**Disclaimer: -groan- must i do this for every chapter? no, i dont own phil of the future or any of its characters. only this twisted plot of mine. muahahaha...**

_**If Only You Knew**_

**Chapter Four: Studying in the Snow**

It was even colder than in the morning. As Phil and Keely walked up the street that lead to the Diffy house, a gust of freezing wind blew and Keely shivered vigorously. Suddenly she felt something warm, and she turned to see Phil adjusting her forgotten jacket around her shoulders. She smiled gratefully and slipped her arms into the sleeves, but then frowned when she saw him shiver slightly as well.

Wait...Phil, what about you?" she asked, stopping to look at him.

Phil grinned. "No worries." He pulled out the Wizard from his pocket and materialized a thick jacket right onto his body, and they continued walking.

"That thing is so awesome!" Keely exclaimed, never failing to be in awe of Phil's many futuristic gadgets. "I wish I had one of those when I go out with you---" She saw the look on Phil's face and panicked, blushing furiously as she quickly corrected herself. "No, I-I mean, not on a DATE, just...like, to the mall, or something...you know, as friends...guy friend, gal friend...yeah..." She mentally whacked herself on the head for thinking about him again, but Phil just smiled, amused.

The Diffy house was quiet as the two friends walked into the backyard, waving awkwardly at an enthusiastic Mr. Hackett on the other side of the fence before rushing through the back door and into the safety of Phil's kitchen. Both Phil and Keely took off their jackets and slipped into the living room, dropping their bags on the couch and looking around.

"Dad? Mom?" Phil called into the silent house. No reply. He glanced at Keely, who shrugged, and he yelled again. "Pim?…Curtis?"

A grunt came from the top of the stairs, and a familiar caveman popped his head out above the railing. He smiled wide and said, "Phil come home! Curtis told to tell Phil that Mom and Dad out. Come back by dinner!" He chuckled and went off to do whatever he had been doing before, leaving Phil and Keely alone again.

Keely sat down next to her bag and opened it, glancing at Phil as he quietly stared up the staircase. "Wait…where's Pim?" he called, and Curtis's voice drifted down in reply. "Garage! Working on thing-a-ma-jig!"

Phil turned to face Keely, and she noticed a vaguely familiar evil glint in his eyes as he smiled. A certain part of her dream can tumbling back into Keely's mind, and her eyes widened. "Phil?" she asked cautiously, shifting uneasily on the couch as her stomach squirmed. Evil eyes never meant anything good.

"I'll be right back. Could you wait here for a bit?" he asked, slowly starting to walk backwards towards the stairs. Keely nodded, bewildered, and Phil turned and raced up the steps. He skidded to a halt before Pim's room and opened her door, an evil grin on his face.

"I'll scare her a bit. It'll make up for this morning."

He took out the wizard and browsed through it, finally finding the design of the room his mom had made for Pim a few weeks ago, with the shimmering rainbow display. He pressed a button and the furniture in Pim's room vanished, only to be replaced by pink walls, stuffed animals, big poofy pillows, and the trademark rainbow. He pushed the "locked" button and typed in a passcode, then shoved it back into his pocket. Then Phil quickly closed the door and ran back down to the living room, where Keely sat waiting.

He sat down next to her and opened his bag, taking out his Geometry book and turning to the pages related to the test. "Okay, Keel, let's start and get this over with." When he got no reply, Phil looked up and saw Keely staring out the window, looking shocked. "Keely?" He waved his hand in front of her face, and she slowly turned to look at him, mouth open. "I-It's..." she started, but couldn't finish. "What?" Phil asked, cocking his head, confused. Keely tried again. "I-It's...It's..."

"It's snowing out there, Phil..."

"WHAT!" Phil whirled around on the couch and stared out the window in complete awe. Thousands of beautiful flakes fell from the sky, coating the ground in brilliant white and already a couple of inches deep. "H-How long?" Phil asked Keely, without taking his eyes off the sight outside. "Right after you left," she whispered, eyes sparkling. "It just...started falling...but how? We're in Pickford! It never snows here, especially not this much..."

Phil's mind clicked right then and there. "Yeah..." he said in a low voice, suddenly suspicious. "At least, it wouldn't, unless someone MADE it snow..." Memories of Pim complaining about school and getting revenge on Candida and the Fashion Zombies for something suddenly appeared in his head. He put two and two together...

"Pim!" Phil growled, standing up in a rush and startling Keely. He stormed into the garage, where Pim was sitting at a dusty table, examining a gadget and in deep thought. He slammed the door behind him in a rage, unfortunately right in Keely's face, and glared at his devilish little sister. Pim squeaked in surprise and hid the gadget from view, laughing nervously as a faint "Hey!" was heard behind the garage door.

"Oh...heeeeey Phiiiil...what's up?" she asked innocently, trying to put on her best "cute-little-sister" face. It didn't work.

"What's that?" Phil replied, ignoring her greeting, pointing to her hands under the table. He quickly walked over and snatched the gadget from her, much to her complaints. He looked it over, then realized what it was.

"The Insta-Weather!" Phil said in disbelief. (yes...my pathetic name for this gadget...DONT TEASE!) "Pim, it's SNOWING out there! You know Dad said you couldn't use this in 2005! How the heck did you find it, anyway?"

"Time Machine, under Dad's seat," Pim said in defeat. "I was only gonna put it on 'Extra Sunny' for a while, since Fashion Freak was tanning in her backyard, but it malfunctioned and broke on 'Blizzard'. I was trying to fix it until now."

Phil groaned and put his head in his hands. There was no way they'd be able to fix this, at least not until their parents came home. "The snow's gonna keep on piling up unless we fix this thing. We have to get Mom and Dad. Fast."

"But how am I gonna get home?" Keely asked quietly from behind him, and he whirled around to see that she had unnoticeably slipped in without him realizing it. He gazed at her with a loss of words. "I...I don't know. The snow's gonna fall harder by the minute, we can't go out there."

Keely stared at him silently as her mind worked things out. _'Snow means block-up. Block-up means no getting home. And no getting home means...Oh God...a night over at Phil's house? TONIGHT, of all days? This is NOT what I thought would happen when I woke up this morning. Oh wait...I didn't wake up this morning, I was up the whole time THINKING ABOUT PHIL. What am I gonna do? I know Via said to act cool, but I don't think she expected THIS! Am I starting to ramble again? Oh shoot! I AM starting to ramble again! And now Phil's staring at me like I'm nuts. Smart, Keely, smart!''_

Phil watched in utter amusement as the girl's face in front of him changed from blankness, to horror, to realization, to despair, then to embarrassment in all of ten seconds. "Um, Keel..."

Keely pushed her thoughts away and said, "Phil, I don't have any extra clothes or anything. How am I supposed to---"

Phil laughed, interrupting her. "Keely, I think you're forgetting who you're talking to." He took out the Wizard and swung it playfully in front of his friend's face, watching as her eyes widened in realization. "C'mon. let's get out of this garage. We can study for Geometry and do other stuff till my parents come home. Pim---" he shot his sister a deadly look. "Don't do anything stupid. Just...watch some t.v. or something in the living room. Me and Keel will be in the kitchen."

"Yeah, okay." Pim answered, being careful to not give any attitude. She was already in enough trouble anyway. They walked back into the house together, as the snowfall outside became slowly worse.

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"Wait...WHAT?" Keely asked for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. Phil was patient with her, though, and explained again. "It wouldn't be cosine, because you're trying to find the distance of line B on the right triangle. 47 degrees represents this acute angle, and to find this missing length you have to use tangent. Here, just think of it as---" He wrote SOHCAHTOA on a piece of paper, "...SOHCAHTOA. For SOH, it means that sine equals the opposite length divided by the hypotenuse." Phil pointed to the letters on the paper, and Keely nodded in some understanding. "CAH is cosine, which equals the adjacent length divided by the hypotenuse, and TOA is tangent, which is the opposite length divided by the adjacent length." Phil finished, and Keely finally understood. "So we'd use...tangent...and the answer for line B is...134 feet!" she said in triumph, and Phil cheered. "YES! That's it!"

Pim groaned from her spot on the couch in the living room. "I need ear muffs..." She upped the volume on her movie glasses and unpaused Galactigirl 2, smiling with glee as another robot was annihilated in surround sound.

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Having finally finished studying, Keely followed Phil upstairs to his room, sitting down on his bed as he went over to the window and looked outside. The snow had picked up a lot by now and was turning into a blizzard, and there was already at least three feet of white covering the ground. Phil sighed in exasperation, leaning his forehead on the cold window pane. "Where are they?" he asked, more to himself than the girl on the edge of his bed.

Suddenly he felt her behind him, her hands on his shoulders, comforting him. "Don't worry," Keely said softly, putting her face right next to his own, forgetting that she was a lot closer to him than she should be right now. "They'll come. They'll fix it. No one's gonna suspect anything. And..." she smiled brightly, "School will be cancelled for at least two days because of this whole thing!"

Phil smiled as well, thanking the Gods that he had such a great---and gorgeous---best friend. They stood like that for a while, side by side, watching the snow fall, just happy to have each other in that moment---

And then Pim let out an enraged scream nearby.

The two friends broke apart and looked away from each other, flushed. Pim screamed again, except this time a single word had been made out of it. "PHIL!"

It was then that Phil realized---Pim had walked into her room.

"Uh-oh." he muttered, grabbing Keely's hand and pulling her towards the door. "We'd better run and hide. FAST." Keely looked at him, confused and flushed at the same time as she looked down at her hand. "But---what---"

"I'll tell you later. Just RUN!" he yelled, wishing he could've seen the look on his sister's face when she saw her room. But now was too late. As Phil and Keely ran down the steps as fast as they could, Pim stomped out of her room, face red, a teddy bear in her hands.

"You just wait, big brother..." she gritted through her teeth, gripping the bear so hard that its head ripped off. "When I find you, if I find you before Mom and Dad get home...you'll look worse than this little teddy of mine!" She laughed wickedly.

"Oh, it's on, Phil...It's on..."

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**A/N: lol...that was so fun to type! dont worry, nothing happened to lloyd and barb, im just putting them in the next chappie. i already started typing chapter 5, so no worries! anyways, thanks so much again for supporting me on this story...dont forget to read and review! THANKS! I LOVE YOU GUYS!**


	6. Rampages

**YES! im going so much faster with updating this story! im so proud! which means not as much waiting for you guys! anyways, for this labor day weekend i get to go spend it with my brothers and my grandma with our annual group at camp naue (YMCA) on Kauai. i didn't want to go because i have so much damn homework, but my grandma got my plane ticket before she even asked me. its okay, camp naue is fun, but ill just have to overstress myself when i get back on monday. anyways, im starting to blabber on about my pathetic life, so ill just let you get on to the actual story itself. enjoy chapter 5!**

**oh, and a small note to Yu-lun…i know youre having fun, i laughed myself when i read your last comment, but you might scare my readers away! lol…..**

**Disclaimer: Nope. Disney Channel owns POTF, not me. Only Disney Channel has the ability to make relationships on their shows inch slower than a turtle on land…**

_**If Only You Knew**_

**Chapter Five: Rampages**

"Phil, what did you do!" Keely whispered fiercely to the boy beside her as they hid in darkness. "Shhh..." Phil replied, as footsteps were heard nearby. It came closer and closer...then, as soon as it had come, the sound died out.

Almost ten minutes had passed, and Pim was still on a rampage in her search to find and kill her older brother. Unfortunately, Lloyd and Barb hadn't come home yet, so Phil and Keely were still stuck in one of the closets in the house. And from the sound of it, Pim wasn't going to give up so soon.

"Phil!" Keely whispered again, wanting an answer from him. Phil sighed and turned to her in the darkness. "You remember that whole lavender smell I had on me this morning?" he asked quietly, and he heard Keely giggle in response. "Well," he continued, ignoring her, "Pim sprayed me with Lysol while I was on the bathroom floor---she purposely opened the door when I was leaning on it---plus she almost made me late for school since she took so long getting ready. She just loves to piss me off nowadays."

Keely was silent for a while, taking it all in, then asked, "So...what did you do that made her so mad?"

Phil laughed bitterly. "I used the Wizard to change her room design to the one my mom made for her a couple weeks back. The one that she had when she was Pim's age. Believe me, it's even more girly than your bedroom---not that your room's bad or anything!" he added hastily when she whacked him on his shoulder. "Anyways, I locked the Wizard so she can't change her room back to her own style. And..." he took the Wizard out of his pocket, "I'm also the one that has it with me."

Keely groaned. "So the reason she's after you is because you messed up her room? You don't know a thing about girls, do you?" Phil was silent, so she rolled her eyes and continued. "One of the main rules: never touch, move, or handle ANYTHING in a girl's room. And also no snooping!" she added, remember all those secret diaries she still had hidden under her bed. "There are some things you can't replace."

"Replace?" Phil repeated, an idea forming in his head. "You can't replace...but you can replicate! That's it! Thanks, Keely!" She gasped in surprise as she felt him unexpectedly hug her, and she smiled dreamily as he let go and felt around the closet for the extra Replicator.

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Pim stood in the living room like a statue, bat in hand, waiting for some sort of noise that could give away Phil's hiding place. "Come on, Phil," she hissed in irritancy. "Why hide? Pimmy will just kill you when you're forced to come out!" Suddenly, a door creaked upstairs, and her eyes shot up to look near the top of the steps. "Dinner's ready," she whispered, grinning evilly, slowly making her way up to the second floor of the house. (Wow...Pim is so very evil, eh? she's like some cannibal. )

As soon as she got to the top, Pim caught a glimpse of a navy blue shirt before it disappeared behind the safety of the bathroom door. A second later, though, Phil's head popped out, searching for any sign of his sister and quieting Keely, who must've been behind him. Once he caught sight of Pim, though, he groaned and surrendered his spot, walking out in plain view with Keely following suit.

Pim laughed wickedly, softly whacking the bat into the palm of her hand. "Oh, look, your girlfriend came to watch you suffer! How sweet!"

Phil, on the other hand, laughed right back at his sister. "I don't think so. I think you've got the wrong Phil!" He turned and stared at the look on Keely's face, then whipped back around, already starting to dissolve into a shower of lights as the replication faded out. "A-And she's NOT my girlfriend!" he stuttered, voice echoing as both he and Keely disappeared.

Pim stood on the spot, shaking with rage. And as she let out a piercing scream, the real Phil and Keely hurried down the stairs behind her and ran into the kitchen.

"So..." Keely said, grinning, as they leaned against the wall, "Almost forgot about her whole girlfriend comment, huh?"

---------------------------------------

Everything had pretty much calmed down by now. Phil had converted Pim's room back to normal, so she promised she would restrain herself from hurting him but refused to let the matter go without some sort of revenge. He and Keely were now sitting on the couch, Keely being sure to put at least some distance between herself and Phil as they watched pretty much anything interesting on t.v., including the many news reports on the sudden snowfall. The Virtu-Goggles were a no-go, just in case Phil's parents came home anytime soon, but both friends still had them in their laps as they lounged on the sofa.

"Hey! No---wait! Stop flipping the channels, I just saw my favorite show!" Keely whined, as Phil continued to click the Channel Up button on the t.v. remote. "Too late, we have to go around again," he replied, grinning as he continued to torment his best friend. Next thing he knew, though, Keely had tackled him and snatched the remote from his hand, moving back to her spot so quickly it was as if she hadn't even moved. She smiled and changed it back to her show while Phil leaned back against the cushion, pouting. "Chick flick..." he muttered, rolling his eyes as Keely shot him a glare.

Suddenly there was a bright blue flash in the kitchen, and both Phil and Keely stood up immediately and rushed in. They made it just in time to see Lloyd and Barb step out of a swirling blue hole before it quickly closed up behind them.

"Mom? Dad? Where were...you..." Phil stopped his question as he took in the sight of his parents. Kimono, fans, the unmistakable white makeup..."You went to Japan?" he asked, raising his eyebrows as Keely stifled a laugh behind him, staring at the makeup on Lloyd's face.

"Actually, it was more in the feudal era," Barb said brightly, waving her fan in front of her face. Then her eyes turned hard, voice stern. "Your _father_ accidentally created a temporary wormhole that COULD'VE taken us back to the future, but instead he used it on a round trip to Japan and back. The only way we can get home now is through the time machine. Again."

Lloyd turned to his wife in defense. "Who knew it was only temporary? If I had known, I would've used it to get us back! Don't blame me for a misunderstanding!" Barb only sighed and walked into the living room, making her way towards the stairs---

Then stopped dead as she looked out the window. "Lloyd," she called uncertainly. "Unless I'm blind, I think there's a blizzard going on in Pickford..." Lloyd ran out into the living room with Phil and Keely in pursuit, and the two adults gaped out the window at the piling snow while the two teens stood nervously behind them. "Phil, what happened while we were gone?" Lloyd demanded, as both he and Barb stared down their only son, wanting answers.

Keely slid behind Phil shyly as he recounted what had happened when both of them came home earlier. "---So Pim's in her room now doing who knows what, Curtis is in his new room, and we've been waiting for you to come home so Dad can fix the Insta-Weather." he finished, glancing up at the expression on his parent's faces before turning to look at Keely.

Both were silent at first, then Barb finally spoke. "Where's the Insta-Weather?" she asked Phil, who pointed into the kitchen. "On the table." She nodded. "Lloyd, get the Insta-Weather and fix it now. We have to stop this blizzard before it buries the entire town. Keely---" At her name, Keely stepped into better view with a look of expectancy on her face. Barb sighed. "Well, Keely, usually we'd give you the guest room to sleep in, but Curtis kind of turned it into a replica of his old cave home and seems to like living in there. So I guess Pim would let you---"

Before she could finish the sentence, though, Pim's voice was heard from her room upstairs. "NO. Blondie there is NOT sleeping in my room!"

Barb looked at Keely helplessly, then smiled, an idea coming to mind. "Well then, Keely, I guess you'll just have to sleep in Phil's room! We have no problem with that!" she said brightly, laughing.

Keely's jaw dropped. _' WHAT! ' _Her thought was voice aloud by Phil, who looked just as shocked and surprised as she did. But before either of them could object or even put a say in the situation, Barb turned away, fanning herself with her fan. "Well, I'm hot, not to mention tired, so I'm going to go change out of this kimono and rest a bit. You two can use the Voice-Activated pot for dinner, have whatever you want. We'll check up on you guys later on. Have fun!" With that, she cheerfully bounded up the steps like a child, turning around once to flash Phil a smile and a thumbs up sign behind Keely's back. He scowled, wondering how the hell parents could do these kinds of things to kids, especially putting him in this situation with the one girl he'd fallen in love with.

Keely, meanwhile, was once again internally freaking out. _' Ohmigod. OHMIGOD. How can this be happening to me! What have I EVER done to deserve this kind of punishment? Well, actually, it's not really punishment, but still! An entire night alone with Phil? OKay, Keely, calm down, you can just sleep and leave it at that, it's not like anything will happen between us, he doesn't even like me! And he doesn't know that I'm totally head over heals for him, right? Okay, deep breath, you don't want him thinking you're nuts again...'_

Too late. As Keely turned, she saw Phil giving her that same strange look as before.

It was going to be a long night.

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**A/N: haha! im making you wait to see what happens! lolololol...nah. i just still have to think of something for the next chappie. read and review!**

**luv ya!**


	7. Let's Go To The Movies

**hey y'all!**

**im baaaack! sorri if i made you guys wait so long. time flies...so much to do, so little time! i was reading a couple of POTF stories when i had the time away from school and work and swimming, and i got a few ideas and a lot of help from reading some plots. i especially enjoyed 1080's story...Time's Up, i think. anyways, i really loved it, and with the help of that and other stories, i got my writers block lifted! well, kinda. yay me! and ohmigooshness, i just got the new aly and aj cd, into the rush, its so awesome! i love all the songs, but Do You Believe in Magic and Walking On Sunshine are still my favorites. okay then, onto the story now. thanks for all the reviews...i really appreciate it! heres chapter six!**

**ps-lol...i just figured out that the wizard is actually spelt wizrd...soory about that guys! ill try to change it.**

**Disclaimer: watching the show right now on t.v., but its still not mine...**

_**If Only You Knew**_

**Chapter Six: Let's Go To the Movies **

Barbara Diffy quietly closed her bedroom door behind her and squealed softly, walking lightly over to the bed where she and Lloyd slept. She picked up her Wizrd and zapped herself, changing into a comfortable top and jeans, then skipped into the master bathroom where Lloyd stood at the sink, washing the white makeup off his face. "Oh, hi honey," he said, wiping his face dry with a towel as she stopped next to him. "I'm just going to change, then I'll get right to work on the Insta-Weather, okay?"

"Oh, don't worry about that just yet!" Barb said cheerfully, clapping her hands together. "Our son has got himself a date with the girl of his dreams...right inside our house, better yet! I've been waiting for this to happen for ages, I knew he had a thing for Keely, he just needed an opportunity. Lloyd, go ahead and fix the Insta-Weather, but when you do, put it on Moderate Snow. School's going be out for sure tomorrow, and Keely will just have to stay a bit longer!" she smiled happily, knowing that she could now contribute to Phil and Keely's relationship. Their feelings toward each other had always been there, she could tell; now, all she had to do was give them a little push. Tonight was going to be something.

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Keely stood fidgeting in front of the counter in the kitchen, mind racing, while Phil sat on a bar stool next to her, fiddling with the Food 5000 Yumminator that would soon give them both dinner. She leaned on the table, supported by her elbows, arms propped up and holding her head in her hands.

_' What are we supposed to do for an entire night? We'll probably be left alone, too...Ugh, why do I always have to be so dense? If I realized that I had fallen for my best friend a little earlier, I wouldn't even be in this situation! But noooo, Teslow, you always have to figure things out when it's already too late! Now I'm stuck in a house with the guy of my dreams, literally, except he doesn't even KNOW that, and I won't even come close to telling him, either. Phil, I swear...if only you knew what I'm going through...if only you knew how much I...' _she couldn't finish her thought, because at that moment Phil slapped the futuristic pot and smiled uneasily at her. "Well, dinner's ready. What d'you want?"

Keely blinked and looked up at him, still somewhat lost in her own head. "Hm? Oh...um...you can get yours first. I don't know what to eat yet." She bent her head down again, staring at the table. _'If only you knew how much I love you...'_

His eyes wavered on her for a second longer, then he quickly turned away, focusing back on the pot. He cleared his throat and said to the pot, "Steak and rice sounds good, I guess." While his meal popped up on a plate, steamed and ready, Phil's mind wandered away as well.

_' Mom did this on purpose. She knows how I feel about Keely, I can't believe her! What am I supposed to do with Keel? She doesn't know anything about me falling in love with her, she just thinks of me as her best friend! And I'm not going to tell her, it might ruin our friendship, she doesn't even like me back, much less love me. Well, I guess we could watch a movie, or use the Virtu-Goggles or something. Just keep it cool.' _He took a deep breath and grabbed his plate, setting it on the table and looking at Keely again.

She felt his eyes on her and she glanced at him again. "Um, I'll have the same as you. Steak and rice," she said to the pot, and with a ding another plate appeared. She took it and together they walked to the couch in the living room, noticeably farther apart than usual. As he sat down Phil picked up the remote, offering it to Keely, and she took it and turned the t.v. on. They placed their plates on the coffee table in front of them and focused on the t.v., both making sure to look anywhere but at each other.

_"This has got to be the most awkward moment of my life,' _Keely thought, sighing to herself. _'I can't keep acting like this forever. C'mon, Teslow, pull it together and do something, or else Phil might start to think something's wrong with you.'_

Little did she know, Phil was thinking the exact same thing. Before she could say anything, he looked at her and said brightly, "Hey, Keel, you wanna go Virtu-Goggling after we eat? I figure that maybe since it's snowing so bad outside, we could go to someplace where you actually go and play in the snow. How about it?"

Keely gave him a look. "Playing in the snow?" she asked, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Don't you think we're a little too old for that? How old are you, seven?"

"Okay, okay..." Phil started, but Keely was still going on, as usual, to make her point.

"I mean, seriously Phil, what are you going to do, make snow angels? Sit around and make a little snowman? I mean, snowboarding and skiing is another thing, but---"

"Okay! I get it, Keel!" Phil said in exasperation, before his eyes lit up with another idea. "Hey, how about a movie? With the Virtu-Goggles," he added, when Keely opened her mouth to say something again. "Look, in the future, we have them in the best 3D vision possible. There isn't even a screen, it's pretty much just made up of three-dimensional holograms." He smiled at the look on his friend's face, knowing that he finally caught her attention.

"Are you serious? That's so awesome!" she said in fascination. "But nothing is as awesome as that mall we went to, no no." She said this more to herself than Phil, and he rolled his eyes.

"So we're cool then?" he asked her, and Keely nodded energetically. All nervousness faded as both of them chatted about what type of movie to see, too engrossed in the subject to realize that each was slowly scooting closer to the other on the couch.

Barb watched from her hiding place behind the wall, smiling at she watched the two teens talking endlessly. She tiptoed away, content with the sight before her, and made her way upstairs to her room.

----------------------------------------------------

"Okay, so remember, we're virtualized in this thing." Phil said, handling the goggles as Keely finished eating the last of her food on her plate. "Don't get too into it like---" he stopped, realizing his mistake, and quickly looked at Keely, hoping she hadn't noticed. She had. "Like that time with Robby?" she asked quietly, looking up at him, and Phil regretted even mentioning it. He looked away shamefully, recounting the bad memory for a split second, like it had happened just yesterday.

-Phil's memory (a flashback...he's just lost in thought for a few seconds)-

_"Thank you Robby," Keely said shyly as the cute waiter of Paradise Cove refilled her tiki mug with water. It was Keely's first Virtu-Trip, and their first destination was, of course, lunch at a mall of the future. Robby winked at her and walked away, Keely admiring him as he left. Phil stared at him as well, although he watched with disgust. He dropped the sandwich he was eating and glared at Keely accusingly. "What's that about?" _

_Keely looked over at Phil, genuinely confused. She shrugged lightly. "What's what about?" she asked innocently, with a slight smile._

_Phil rolled his eyes, then repeated "Thank you Robby," in a mock tone of Keely's voice. He glared at her again, and Keely gave him a look. "It's called being polite," she said in a matter-of-fact voice. "No, it's called being flirty!" Phil shot back instantly, staring his best friend down._

_"What are you, loopy?" Keely asked, annoyed. "What are YOU, Flirty McFlirtenhoffer!" he replied in retaliation, equally annoyed._

_It started to get worse. "I am NOT Flirty Mc---what you said!" Keely said in frustration, and Phil groaned, rolling his eyes. "You're the one being Jealous..." Keely quickly searched her brain for a name, "Mc---Jelly...Goober!"_

_Phil scoffed at her. "Jealous!" he said in disbelief, pointing his thumb behind him at Robby. "Of THIS guy!"_

_"What's bugging you, Diffy!" Keely said angrily, now glaring daggers at Phil. "What's bugging me is YOU!" he answered, beyond irritation. _

_At that moment Robby came back to see what all the fuss was about. "You two lovebirds on a date?" he asked, peering at both of them. They both turned and shouted simutaneously, "NO!"_

_Robby, realizing his chance, gazed at Keely and leaned against the table, smiling. "Well, then! Say kitten, I'm about to go offline. How'd you like to join me for some deep conversation and discounted appetizers, yeah?" he asked her, nodding. Phil groaned and looked away as Keely thought for a second. Then she turned to Phil and leaned in close.. _

_"You wanna see flirty?" she asked simply, then turned back to Robby and smiled flirtatiously. "I'd love to," she replied in the same shy tone as before, gazing at him dreamily. "Cool," Robby cooed, taking her hand and gently pulling her off her chair, leading her to another table. He glanced at Phil and smirked. "Check ya later, brah!" Keely raised her eyebrows and nodded at Phil, challenging him to do something about it. Phil just sat there, stunned, staring as his best friend left to have fun with a robot._

_- - -_

Phil shook his head slightly, trying to push the memories out of his head. Not only had he become extremely jealous, but it turned out that Robby ended up trying to make a move on Keely and he had to step in to stop it. In the process of trying to turn Robby off (with the off switch being up his nose), Phil had scared the heck out of Keely when Robby almost twisted his arm right off his body. She ended up feeling so pathetic about the entire situation that she took off her goggles and ended the Virtu-Trip right after Phil came out of the fight okay. Her first trip wasn't that great at all, but it had taught her a lesson: She had no good taste in robots.

Phil was pondering in these thoughts when suddenly Keely started laughing. He whipped around to gape at her, wondering why she was so happy about one of their not-so-good moments. "Wha---?"

"Don't worry, I don't think I'll have any distractions this time," she replied with a glamorous smile, the laughter still lingering in her eyes. "There's better things to focus on." Keely suddenly turned bright red, realizing that she had just said her thoughts aloud, and tried desperately to cover it up. "You know, like, the movie. I'd be focused on the movie." _'Once again, nice work, Teslow! Ugh, can I be any worse!'_

Phil just laughed it off. "Yeah, I think you'll like it, Keel. Better than any other hot robot!" He handed her the Virtu-Goggles and together they put it on, Keely glancing over to see if she was doing it correctly. Moments later...

-In the Virtual World-

"It's HERE?" Keely asked, gasping as a familiar futuristic mall came into view. She smiled as she took in her surroundings once again, and Phil grinned at the sparkle in her eyes. "Yup," he replied, looking around as well. "Come on, we have to change again." He took Keely's hand and lead her to the same automated clothing machine as before (yes, I know, I don't know the name for it...watch the episode!), and they chose out their outfits. Luckily Phil had better taste this time as he chose a rich royal blue pantsuit with silver, and Keely chose a slightly different stylish outfit in a light pink. Her hair had changed styles as well; instead of being a sleek straight it now held light waves with a few slight curls.

Phil gawked at her. She looked absolutely gorgeous. As soon as she turned to look at him, though, he closed his half-opened mouth and put on a casual smile. "Nice," he complimented, and Keely smiled shyly. "Thanks..." Both were staring at each other without realizing it, until Keely finally took notice and looked away, flushed. Phil looked away as well, and he laughed shortly, trying to get rid of the tension in the air. "Let's go." They continued on, now looking as normal (if anything, even better) as anyone else in the mall.

A few feet away, a familiar someone suddenly appeared in the mall, smiling maliciously. Watching the two friends walking on, the person laughed.

"On a date, are we? And you thought it was over? I think it's time for a bit of sweet revenge..."

---------------------------------------------

**A/N: AHHHHHH! CLIFFY : runs around screaming head off : lol,..yes. i know. i shouldn't be mean. but too bad! anyways, i think you guys all know who the mystery person is. if not...well, that kinda sucks, cause now you'll have to wait until i can get another chappie up to figure it out! so ill try to update as soon as i can, seeing as im still kinda busy. and the fair's coming up! yay! lol...dont forget to read and review!**


	8. Another Author's Note

**hey guys!**

**look, im really sorry for all this. i havent updated in like, what, a month? well, thing is, my ENGLISH TEACHER thinks that he's supposed to prepare us for college in NINTH GRADE, so we've got so much homework its not even funny. ive been so swamped that i havent even thought about how to start the next chappie! so hang in there, again, im so sorry, ill update as soon as i have the time! please forgive me, im so pissed off with school right now!**

**-daydreamr'girl-**


	9. Plans

**hey you people!**

**its unbelieveable how damn long i took to whip up this chapter. jeez. again, im really sorry about it, because the pressure is really on me right now, especially since im expected to maintain a 4.0 average, juggle in work and swimming, AND go to bed all before eleven. ("you need your sleep, now GO TO BED ALREADY!") so i've dedicated the little time i have on the bus each morning and afternoon to try and get as much of this story done as i can, just for you! lol...many thank yous for the many reviews while i was gone, its always great to see that. im almost to a hundred! yay! thats my goal now, one hundred reviews. **

**anyways, i kinda came to notice that everytime i put uncommon puctuations and designs in my story, it always ends up getting erased. like, for instance, i cant put a stupid exclamation mark after a question mark, because then the question mark is erased and it messes the whole quote up, and then it doesnt sound like a question because there IS no question mark. the same goes for the little star symbol (you know, the SHIFT 8 thing...is it called an asterek or something?), it always gets erased. so if any of you guys know how to fix this, id really appreciate it. its pissing me off. :(**

**and now, to wrap things up...my new favorite songs on my aly and aj cd is now collapsed and no one. (all of them are good, though.) me and my friend sing it like idiots during school. so fun. lol...now to the story!**

**Disclaimer: still hoping...STILL WAITING...(silence)...nope. dont own it.**

_**If Only You Knew**_

**Chapter Seven: Plans**

"Are you almost done fixing the Insta-Weather, honey?" Barb asked her husband as she walked into the confinments of the small dark garage. For some odd reason a distinct odor reached her nose, and she covered her nose and mouth with her hand to block out the stench. Lloyd spun around quickly to face his wife, his features twisted into a overjoyous smile. "Even better!" he almost shouted, causing Barb to raise her eyebrows in amusement. "It turns out that, while fixing the Insta-Weather, I discovered an extra piece that could be used to fix another part of the time machine! With this, I can connect it to the element condenser so that it won't refract and create a parabolic curve, which means that the partical tube won't ignite and the a-symptonic curve..." he continued to babble on incoherently as Barb shook her head, impatient. "Which means...?" she asked, interrupting Lloyd's "speech" halfway through. He gave a goofy grin, unable to contain himself any longer. "JUST ONE MORE PART, AND WE'RE GOIN' BACK HOME!" With that he broke out into an unusual tap dance, whooping with glee.

Barb gasped and clasped her hands together, watching happily as her husband jumped around the garage. Slowly, though, her smile faded, and she turned towards the door behind her, gazing at it in sorrow. _'But Phil...and Keely,' _her mind whispered, and Barb sighed. Whatever happened between the two wouldn't matter much longer, especially if things kept on going the way they were. Her son was going to have a lot of trouble on his hands...whether he wanted it or not.

--------------------------------------------------

"Look, I just want you to mess up their little date," Pim said as she laid back on her bed, arms behind her head. Ironically, she was talking to thin air. "NO, don't hit on her again, you freakin robot, just mess up Phil's life and get it over with! She's not gonna fall for you like last time." She sighed in irritance, and continued. "Yeah, I guess you could make her mad at him, I really don't care!"

Suddenly Lloyd's voice echoed throughout Pim's room as her Wizrd automatically turned on, his face appearing on the small screen. "Pim, get down here! You gotta see this, it's important!" When he didn't get an answer, he sighed and left the screen, Barb taking his place. "Honey, you really do need to see this. Listen to your father, and come to the garage."

Pim groaned and sat up, still talking to what seemed like herself. "Ya got all that, Pipehead? Good. Don't screw it up."

She laughed sinisterly as she took off the Virtu-Goggles, tossing them on her bed as she stood up to leave. "How pathetic. I can't even watch my brother experience the worst day of his life!" She shook her head and closed her bedroom behind her, trudging downstairs to whatever awaited her in the garage.

-----------------------------------------

Not that far away, back in the Virtual World, Robbie rubbed his hands together as he thought up a plan.

"Mess up Doofus's life? No problem..."

**--------------------------------------------------**

**A/N: (sigh...) im sorry, i know its short. i just wanted to update for you guys, since i know youve been waiting for so long. ill try to post a longer one soon, i promise. until then...see ya! read and review...thanks!;P**


	10. AUTHOR'S APOLOGIES

**-sigh...- okay. i know. im really sorry...again. but this time, im gonna just say it. the good news is, im NOT going to trash this story and end it here, though i bet some of you guys think i already have since its been so long since ive even updated. the bad news is...well, im gonna postpone updating the story until further notice, probably and most likely after first semester ends. for one, my life has been so crazy that i have had NO time AT ALL to even think about this story, let alone even brainstorm the rest of the plot. and for two...i watched "the video" on halloween night (now the best halloween of my life) and it kinda messed up my whole storyline. but still, im gonna continue the story! for now, though, i just dont have the time. im really sorry, you guys, i truly am. my style might improve a bit when i do update after the semester ends, though, because ive been reading some awesome PotF stories by element90 and n0teb00k (i suggest you read those, theyre the BEST stories of PotF i have read so far...seriously.). ive also got some tips from a friend on how to improve my style, so when i come back to update with more chapters ill be sure to up it a bit, make things in the story go a little...faster. lol...once again, im really sorry. ill most likely be able to start this story up again either DURING or after christmas break, so i hope you guys can wait just a little longer for me. if not...ill understand. for those of you who reviewed and read, thank you so much for all the kind comments! i love you all. only five more reviews till i actually reach one hundred! WOW!okay, now im just rambling. once again, thank you so much. i PROMISE that ill complete this story as soon as i get the chance!**

**much love**

**-jaime-**

**daydreamr'girl**


	11. The Wonders of Love

**:sigh: hey guys! ill make this short, so you can go onto the story faster. lol! for those of you who came back to read, thanks so much for waiting for so long. now that the semester is OVER, finals are DONE, and i have no more stress for english since its only for half the year...im all good. hopefully this christmas break i can get out a few more chappies for you guys. much thanks to frankie, my buddy who helped me out with some brainstorming, and also element90 and n0teb00k for some great inspiration by writing such awesome fanfictions that i love to immerse myself in! you guys are the greatest! 3 ya! **

**Disclaimer: i hate doing these, but apparently i think i should. (i actually almost forgot about this.) no, i STILL dont own PotF. _YET_. soon, maybe, if i get the right connections. then they cant cancel season three. muahahaha... :cough cough: did i just say that? erm, i mean…uh…PotF rules!**

_**If Only You Knew**_

**Chapter Eight: The Wonders of Love**

"I am NOT going to see a chick flick this time, and that's final!" Phil stated firmly, arms crossed over his chest as he stared stubbornly at the blonde girl next to him. Keely moaned, tugging on his sleeve as she pointed at one of the holographic movie posters in front of them.

"But...c'mon, Phil, it's three-dimensional, plus it's my first time seeing a movie like this!" Keely whined. "Pleeeease...?" She batted her lashes at him, her trademark plea, but this time it didn't seem to work as well as the many times before.

"I went with you to that 'Samurai-Love You' movie the day after Hackett came over for dinner, Keel, and sat through two full hours of you crying your eyes out and blowing your nose through an entire box of tissues!" Phil cried, throwing his hands up into the air. "That pretty much makes us even from the Sci-fi movie we saw before that!"

Keely sighed in defeat, knowing he was right, and ran a hand through her wavy hair. "Fine. We'll watch something else. As long as it's not one of those weird movies that some obsessed geek freak would want to go to!" she added hastily, which in turn earned her a glare from Phil.

"Well, how about...a romantic comedy?" Phil suggested out of consideration for his best friend, looking down at their choices. But Keely shook her head, disinterested. "Nah. Too predictable. Girl meets guy, girl falls for guy, then the conflicts, the resolutions, and they end up together happily ever after. Always the same." In actuality, romantic comedies were Keely's favorite type of movie, but lately she was getting irritated by the fact that the things that happened in them never happened in real life. _'Obviously, or I'd be coupled up with a certain someone right now.' _she thought to herself, rolling her eyes.

Phil groaned, trying to keep his patience. "O-kay...How about...one of those suspense/scary movies? Either that, or we're stuck with..." He glanced down at the final choice in disgust. "'The Easter Bunnies Go to Kryptonia, Part 3."

Keely stared at Phil in mock thought, cocking her head to one side as she decided over the two choices. "Well, I don't know Phil, I'd sure want to know what happens to those Easter bunnies when they get to..." Phil cut her off with an exasperated "KEELY!" and she giggled, placing her hands on his shoulders. "I'm kidding, future boy. We'll go to the other one."

They stared at each other for that moment, and once again Phil found himself lost in her stunningly green eyes and that warm smile. He never realized it before, for she was always pretty from the start...but her outer beauty now seemed to radiate, and she suddenly seemed to take the form of...a goddess. In that moment, Phil was hit full-force with all that was Keely. Suddenly, he had the strongest urge to just...lean in and kiss her, to wrap his arms around her and never let go. But he couldn't do that, he knew she didn't---she would never---

Keely suddenly blinked and dropped her hands, resting them on her hips as she laughed nervously. "We'd better get going, huh?" she said, quickly turning away from Phil's penetrating gaze and motioning towards the entrance of the movie theater.

Phil nodded dumbly, unable to speak just yet, and Keely gave a soft chuckle. "You okay?"

He quickly shook his head to clear his mind, then cut his eyes back to his best friend. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just...great." He flashed her a goofy grin and gently led her into the virtual theater as she tried to suppress another laugh.

Neither of them noticed the shadowed figure glaring at them as he leaned against the pillar, just a few feet away.

--------------------------------------

"You made me come all the way down here to show me the broken time machine...AGAIN?" Pim almost shrieked, desperately trying to contain her irritancy as she glared at her father. She could've been watching another one of her plans with Phil at work, yet here she was _once again_ staring at the piece of junk that would supposedly take her back to the year 2121...if it was ever fixed.

"Honey, we just wanted to share with you the good news!" Barb said patiently, resting her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Now your father's just one step away from taking us back home...isn't that what you want?"

Pim groaned, lifting her lagoon blue eyes towards her mother. "Mom...I'm really happy that dad fixed another part of the time engine...but I was kind of BUSY at the moment." She shot another glare at Lloyd, who cringed at the deathly look in her eyes. "Couldn't it have waited until tomorrow?" she continued in a sweet voice as she looked back at her mother, and Barb raised her eyebrows at the sudden change of tone.

Lloyd cleared his throat, lifting his laser mask. "Okay, Pim-cicle, you can leave, then. There's nothing else here to see. As long as you're not doing anything evil-related," he added, which caused Pim to laugh lightly.

"Oh, daddy-o, don't worry about it. _I'm_ not doing anything bad..." A malicious look crossed her features, and as soon as she had come Pim disappeared back into the house.

Lloyd and Barb watched the door swing softly shut behind her, and for a beat there was complete silence.

"Are you _sure_ she's our daughter?" Lloyd asked his wife suddenly, furrowing his brow in thought as he leaned heavily on the desk he was working on. "I mean, she doesn't look ANYTHING like either one of us---"

"LLOYD!" Barb interrupted sharply, glaring daggers at him from her spot near the door. He cringed yet again and quickly pulled down his mask, getting back to work. "Right! Okay! I'll finish up on the Insta-Weather now!"

Pim bounded up the stairs and rushed into her room, pulling the door shut behind her as she plopped on her bed. "Better not have missed anything good," she muttered as she grabbed her own Virtu-Goggles and turned them on, placing them over her eyes. She fell back against her headboard and sprayed herself a bowl of popcorn, grinning as the mall popped onscreen. "This should be interesting."

------------------------------------------

"Okay, Phil, I have to confess..." At once, Phil cut his eyes over to Keely, a questioning and almost hopeful look in his eyes as they came to a stop in front of the two towering doors that led into their movie theater.

"I'm not that good with scary movies." She admitted bluntly, giving a ghost of an apologetic smile as she fiddled with the rings on her fingers. "Like, at _all_. Keely and scary movies---no match." She shook her head and threw out her hands for extra emphasis, the nervousness clearly evident in her eyes.

Phil's hopeful expression faded, and he ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stick out at strange angles. "Keel, it's more of a suspenseful movie, so there's nothing to worry about, really." He gave her a comforting grin, the smile that always seemed to make her heart skip a beat every time he flashed it. "If you must, though..." He lifted his arm lazily, cringing slightly at the thought of what was to come. "This arm's all ready to get the life squeezed out of it."

How did he do it? How did he always make her feel like nothing could ever go wrong when he was near? How, with just a few comforting words, was he able to push all the doubt and worry out of her mind and just...make everything seem so...right? Keely simply laughed, a light feeling in her chest as Phil opened the door and motioned for her to go in.

"After you, madam," He said in a deep voice, bowing gracefully and faking a yelp of pain when she whacked him across the head as she passed through the entry.

In the wonders of love, life just couldn't get any better.

-------------------------------------------

**A/N: yay me! off to type out the next chappie...hope you guys liked this one! R&R pwease:P**


	12. Robbie's Revenge Part One

**next chapter up and ready! hope ya like it. im trying to finish up this part of my story, so i can put in a special christmas chapter for all you christmas day readers...hopefully ill be able to pull it off! we can only hope...and who knows? maybe we'll have a little twist with that chappie...muahaha...wait for it peoples, and it will come! ...i hope. **

**Disclaimer: the simple facts---i DONT own PotF at ALL, i NEVER will, and thats the end of my sad little story. have a nice day!**

_**If Only You Knew**_

**Chapter Nine: Robbie's Revenge Part One**

"Where _is_ he?" Pim said aloud to herself in frustration as she sat just a few rows behind her two lovely suspects in the theater. Robbie was nowhere to be seen, while as the movie was just about to start and her plan was slowly going down the drain. She let out an impatient growl and slouched deeper into her seat, disgust taking over her features as she watched the two best friends in front. "My perfect older brother and 'The Girl'. Shoulda known that it was gonna happened sooner or later. Ugh."

-----------------------------------------

Phil rolled his eyes and groaned as he was bombarded with a million questions from the girl sitting next to him. It seemed almost impossible for so many things to be tumbling out of just one person's mouth, but then again...this WAS Keely that we were talking about.

"Have you seen this movie before?"

"Ooh! So what's it like to watch one of these things?"

"You don't need those 3D glasses to see them pop out at you? How is that even possible?"

"Ohmigosh, Phil…the future is SO COOL!"

"Are absolutely sure that the movie isn't scary?"

"You're ABSOLUTELY sure? Because, you know, it isn't go---"

"Keely!" he suddenly exclaimed, cutting off her rambling mid-sentence as he turned and covered her mouth. "We...are going...to see the movie...in just...a few minutes," Phil continued slowly once he had gotten her attention. "So...save the rest of the questions for later, okay? No, I haven't seen it, and no, you don't need 3D glasses because this is the FUTURE we're talking about, and yes, I'm absolutely positively sure that the movie is NOT scary." He paused for a split second then shook his head, unsure. "Never mind. Scratch that last part. I'm not really sure about the scary thing."

He pulled his hand away and immediately regretted it as a jumble of words once again poured out of Keely's mouth. "_WHAT_? I thought you said it wasn't going to be scary! Phil, you know I can't handle---"

Before she could finish, or start again in this case, Phil stopped her once again, this time with a finger to her lips. "Keel! It's going to be alright, okay? It's just a movie, and I'm here, remember? Don't. Worry. About it." He grinned at the flustered look on his best friend's face and dropped his finger, settling his hand on the armrest of his seat. Sometimes he wondered how he could be so confident in the most unusual situations, and this particular moment was just that. He sighed inwardly, mentally shaking his head. _'Now if only I could do that when I needed it the most...'_

Keely, on the other hand, was the exact opposite of confident at the moment. _'How does he _do_ that?' _she thought in exasperation, nervously turning back towards the movie front and absently tugging at the bracelet on her wrist. _'He literally makes me melt with just a simple touch nowadays! How am I supposed to deal with this when he's my best friend? I'm not supposed to be feeling this way about him! That's the number one rule-breaker for best friends, Teslow, how'd you get yourself into this?' _

She stole a glance at Phil, who caught her looking before she had a chance to turn away, and he gave her a goofy smile. Keely went a light crimson and somehow mustered a weak smile before quickly turning back to the movie front, hiding behind her arm and mentally whacking herself across the head.

_'Smart, Teslow! Can I get any weirder?' _She sighed softly and massaged her eyes. _'Why does this have to be so hard for me?' _Deciding that the best thing to do was to hide it all, Keely tuned out the small voice protesting in her head and forced herself to focus on the movie, which had just begun. As the lights dimmed and the first realistic holograms began to appear, she cut one more subtle glance in Phil's direction, making sure that he didn't take notice this time.

To him, she was just a friend. So that was how she was going to act for now...if she could hold it together.

What she didn't know was that Phil was thinking the exact same thing.

--------------------------------------------------------

"FINALLY!" Pim declared loudly, which earned her several glares from the audience and a few "Shh!" from the people surrounding her. Robbie groaned and put a hand to his head as he quietly slumped down in the chair next to her, careful not to be seen by either Phil or Keely.

"So what's up, dudette?" He asked Pim, leaning in and flashing a perfect smile her way, much to her disgust. She groaned and shoved him farther away from her, rolling her eyes.

"I hope you have a plan, Pipehead, cause we don't have much time to mess this up."

-------------------------------------------------------

"Look, Phil, I'm just letting you know now...if I _do_ get scared, there's a really big chance that your arm's gonna be red by the time we walk out of the theater," Keely whispered, leaning in close so that he could hear. Phil laughed and rested a reassuring hand on hers, and her heart fluttered in her chest.

"I'm willing to deal with the pain, then, I guess," he replied, shrugging casually. Keely smiled in thanks, but much to her disappointment Phil's hand left her own and the warmth disappeared. She turned back towards the holograms in front and watched in complete awe as the opening credits exploded right in front of her eyes.

Hopefully her confidence would last. But then again…why not be clingy when you had the boy of your dreams sitting right next to you, in a suspenseful, scary movie no less?

Keely tried to push the thought out of her mind, reminding herself firmly that she and Phil were just friends and nothing more. But nothing could suppress the faint grin that slowly appeared on her lips.

Maybe a scary movie wouldn't be so bad after all.

-----------------------------------------------------

Pim nodded slightly as Robbie explained the final touches of his plan, and at last a gleeful smile broke out on her face.

"Perfect. Do that, then, and we'll have ourselves the perfect revenge. I'm counting on ya, pretty boy," she said cheerfully as she patted Robbie on the shoulder, and he gave her a strange look. "Ehehe...sorry." she added hastily, removing her hand quickly as he slowly stood up to leave.

"Wait..." Pim interjected before Robbie could go any further, and he turned to look at her with an impatient and questioning stare. "What?" he snapped, as he folded his arms across his chest in irritancy.

"Let Phil enjoy what time he has for a little while longer," she said softly, smirking as images only she could see flashed through her mind.

"The more fun he has now...the worse it'll be for him when it falls to pieces."

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If there was ever a time that Phil actually enjoyed a movie to the fullest, it would definitely be now. Not only was the movie one of the best suspenseful and creepy ones he had ever seen, but because of it the girl next to him was literally clinging onto him like he was the only thing left in the world to hold. As another crash was heard throughout the multiple speakers and a ghostly hologram sprung towards the audience, Keely let out what sounded like a muffled squeak and buried her face into Phil's shoulder, no longer caring about the distance she should be keeping between them.

Inhaling the sweet scent that was Keely, Phil gently nudged her until her eyes peeked out at him, barely visible under the abundance of her hair. "Hey...you okay, Keel?" he asked quietly, a hint of worry etched into his words.

Keely blinked, and for a moment she didn't seem to have heard what he said to her. Phil cocked his head as his worry increased ever so slightly, and he nudged her again. "Keely?"

Abruptly, she pulled away and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, staring at her lap as she bit her lip. Disappointed at the loss of warmth, Phil straightened in his chair and turned to Keely, his worry heightening even more. "Keel? What's wrong?"

Keely finally lifted her eyes to his, and he was stunned to see something in them that he had never seen before. He couldn't comprehend it, he couldn't figure out what it was...and before he had a chance to try, she spoke.

"Phil...listen." she said softly, in almost a whisper. For a second her eyes wavered on his, and there was a moment of hesitation before she continued. "I...I can't keep on doing this. This whole...thing." She motioned to everything around her, as if she couldn't fit a description to what she was trying to say.

He didn't understand. What was Keely trying to tell him? Slowly, he reached towards her, trying to comfort her, but to his confusion and dismay she only shrunk further away. "Keely, what's going---"

Suddenly Keely's eyes went wide in alarm as she looked over Phil's shoulder at something he couldn't see. She gasped and immediately turned in her seat, covering her mouth as she tried to warn him. "Ohmigod! Phil, watch out---"

It was already too late. Before he had a chance to turn even the slightest bit, a sharp blow to the head knocked Phil senseless, causing him to lurch forward towards Keely. As vision began to fade, he heard her cry out his name once more as a malicious, almost familiar laugh echoed in his brain.

And then everything went black.

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**and thus we end with a cliffy! oooo...what happened, what happened? lol...next chappie up soon, i hope! until then, hope you liked it, and dont forget to review and review some more! **


	13. Robbie's Revenge Part Two

**:sigh: one more chapter to go until a christmasy one! yay! hope you like this one, though it personally didn't turn out how i wanted it to be. once again, much appreciation to frankie, who helped me out so so much with this chappie of mine. also, thanks for all the reviews! now onto the story!**

**Disclaimer: even after ten chapters...i still dont own phil of the future. i mean, come on, couldnt i have least gotten a character or something. :sadness:**

_**If Only You Knew**_

**Chapter Ten: Robbie's Revenge Part Two**

Pim was instantly on her feet, mouth dropping open as she watched Robbie swiftly bring a hand up to her brother's head and knock him over with ease. Keely cried out and tried to get away, but Robbie was immediately at her side, whispering something in her ear before grabbing her wrist and shimmering out in a vortex of swirling light. There was an uproar in the audience as everyone began to rise to see what had happened, and Pim put a hand to her head in frustration.

"What the heck is that idiot _doing_?" she muttered, shoving her way through the crowd of confused people to get to where Phil lay unconscious. "I _told_ him to not touch the girl, and what does he do? Freakin' kidnaps her! Talk about following the plan! Stupid robot..."

Finally reaching the spot where Phil had fallen, Pim growled and shot everyone around her a deathly stare, daring them to come nearer. Slowly the crowd dissipated in fear of this young, blonde, crazy girl, and Pim glanced down at her brother's limp body, arms folded across her chest. _'Great. _Now_ what am I supposed to do?'_

She felt a pang of sympathy find its way into her heart, and she raised her eyebrows in amusement and utter surprise. _'Wow. I actually feel a little sorry for him.' _She cocked her head as she stared down at Phil, contemplating on what to do next. _'Maybe I should help him get his "girlfriend" back from that freak.'_

There was a pause, and suddenly Pim let out a screech of mad laughter, doubling over and clutching her sides. The few remaining people witnessing the scene shrunk away, wondering if this maniac girl had gone completely nuts, and quickly left the theater before she could somehow sprout extra teeth and chase them away herself.

As her laughter died away, Pim wiped her eyes and shook her head, grinning._ 'Whoo. Yeah right! That was funny.' _Her face instantly turned serious and she whipped out her Wizrd, tinkering with the buttons and dials. _'Back to business then. I might as well wake him up, at least.' _She finally set it to the correct set-up and aimed the Wizrd at Phil, and at once a beam of bright light shot out and engulfed his entire being.

As Phil groaned and began to stir, Pim sighed and placed a hand on her hip. "I am _such_ a good sister," she announced dramatically, twirling the Wizrd in her free hand while she grinned at her older brother. Before he had the chance to wake up and realize just where he was, though, Pim hastily lifted her hands to her head and took off the goggles, fading out with a casual, "I'm out, then. Later, Phil!"

She had done her part. In fact, she probably did more than she would have ever done for Phil, if it wasn't for the fact that most of this was her fault to begin with. But then again, she had told Robbie not to touch the girl, right?

Either way, it didn't matter anymore. Pim hopped off her bed and tossed her Virtu-Goggles aside, getting ready to go downstairs and watch some boring present day t.v. show. It had been fun while it lasted, at least.

But from now on, Phil was on his own.

----------------------------------------------------

Phil groaned loudly as he heaved himself back on his seat, a hand held to his head gingerly. Still somewhat dazed, it took him only a moment to realize exactly where he was and what had happened, and as soon as it hit him he shot up to his feet instantly. "Keel?_ Keel_!" As his eyes frantically searched for his best friend, a cold chill seeped into the depths of his body; a horrible, sick feeling that settled right in his stomach when he realized just whose laugh he had heard right before he fell unconscious.

"_KEELY_!" he yelled, sprinting out of the theater, oblivious to anything and everything around him. He had to get to her before anything happened, before _he _could do anything to her. Filled with a mixture of rage and dread that he had never felt before, Phil skidded to a halt outside of the theater doors and took in his vast surroundings, eyes darting rapidly left and right as he searched for the one person in the mall that mattered most.

The question now was...where _was_ she?

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Keely folded her arms across her chest defiantly as she sat against a pillar, legs pulled close to her body. Electrifying blue shackles sizzled loosely at her wrists; completely harmless, yet seemingly unbreakable; chained together, yet long enough for her to drop her arms to her sides comfortably. She lifted her head and stared at him with a look of pure resentment and disgust, wondering what she had ever seen in him before.

No…before he was just a cute robot waiter working at a virtual restaurant, a simple flirt who she had used to make her best friend jealous. Now he stood before her, mocking her for his own pleasurable entertainment, as the one boy who could save her from this hell lay unconscious in a theater thanks to him. It didn't matter what he had been before. Now he was just completely insane, though evil would be a better way to explain it. And what mattered now was that she had to escape from him and get back to Phil…and get back home.

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Rushing into the newly materialized Paradise Cove, Phil made his way to the bar and slammed his hands on the counter just as Lloyd turned around with a rag and cup in his hand.

"Hey, son, what're you up to? Where's Keely?" Lloyd greeted cheerfully, glancing around for any sign of a certain blonde-haired beauty.

Panting, Phil paused for a moment to catch his breath before demanding, "Dad! What's Robbie's analytical data code? I need it now!" he added harshly when Lloyd began to ask why. "Look, he took Keely, okay? I need to track him and get her back before anything happens!"

Still somewhat confused, Lloyd furrowed his brow in thought and pulled out his Wizrd, punching in a few buttons. "Here it is…I'll send the code to your Wizrd, Phil, and it should activate the tracking device in no time." Phil nodded and started to make his quick exit, but Lloyd grabbed his arm to hold him back. "Wait! You need to know something!"

Phil gave an exasperated sigh, pulling his arm away and waiting impatiently for his father to continue. "Dad! Kinda in a hurry right now!"

"Look, son, after your first Virtu-Trip with Keely, Robbie got an upgrade almost immediately after his manufacturer rebooted him," Lloyd explained hurriedly. "You won't be able to turn him off the same way anymore. In fact, there IS no way to turn him off now. You'll have to find a way to disable him, but I don't know how. You're on your own with that."

Phil nodded in understanding, eyes narrowing with worry as he tried to think up an alternate plan. With a quick wave he rushed off, but halted right before the exit and turned to look at his father in suspicion.

"Uh…Dad? Have you even finished fixing the Insta-Weather yet?"

Lloyd gave him a blank stare for a few seconds, then snapped his fingers as his face lit up in realization. "Oh yeah! _That's_ what I had to work on!" With that he casually took off his Virtu-Goggles and faded out, chuckling at his lack of common sense.

Phil rolled his eyes and turned to leave, pulling out his Wizrd as a holographic map of the mall materialized. "Got it." He whispered, sprinting out of the restaurant and into the massive vicinity of the mall.

'_Wow…'_ he thought sarcastically as he passed the theater once more, laughing bitterly at the irony of it all.

'_Some trip this turned out to be.' _

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Robbie laughed arrogantly as he eyed Keely from a short distance away, twirling an unknown controller in his fingertips. "C'mon, cute stuff, why don't you just chill? You're with Robbie now! That doofus of yours is a loser, anyway!"

Keely shot him a look of pure loathing and glanced around for an exit, anywhere she could go to get her out of this place…wherever she was. Robbie scoffed lightly and strolled closer towards her, crouching down and leaning in close as he gently tilted her chin up to his face. "I'll tell you what, beach bunny. You give me a little smooch right here on the lips, and maybe I'll take off those shackles for ya, huh? What d'you say?"

Keely jerked her head out of his grasp, laughing bitterly. "I'd rather kiss Owen while he's stuffing his face with fast food." She muttered, disgusted. Robbie's eyes narrowed and he stood up abruptly, folding his arms across his chest. Then, as if it didn't really matter, he laughed lightly. "Looks like girlie has to relax a bit…you don't want me forcing myself on you, now, do ya?"

"Seems to me like she doesn't want to spend time with you."

Robbie spun around and Keely gasped, eyes sparkling as she turned her head at the all-too familiar voice.

"Phil!"

He grinned, pocketing his Wizrd and folding his arms across his chest. "I mean, seriously…" he continued scornfully, eyes gleaming as he stared across the room at Robbie. "Who'd _want_ to spend time with a robot with some pathetic surfer accent?"

Robbie laughed, raising his eyebrows at Phil. "Dude…took you long enough!" He grinned maliciously, holding up the controller that he had been playing with. "Let's hang ten now, bro!"

As he pressed a button on the small device, a distinct rumble shook the entire room, causing Phil to lose his balance. He fell against the pillar opposite of Keely and clung onto it tightly as the quakes worsened with each passing second. Finally, the wall across from the three exploded as a humongous robot emerged in the shape of---

"A dog?" Keely asked with a mixture of disbelief and amusement, staring at Robbie like he was a complete idiot. "You have GOT to be kidding me."

Robbie flashed his perfect smile and once again held up the controller for her to see, pressing another button. The dog suddenly crouched and growled menacingly, turning towards Phil. As if he had become a literal target, the dog charged head first in Phil's direction at full speed, smashing into the pillar and crumbling it to pieces just as Phil hurled himself out of the way.

"HEY!" Phil shrieked at Keely as his head popped out of the rubble, "Don't encourage him!"

Keely smiled sheepishly with a quick "Oh. Sorry." Her eyes widened, and she gasped. "Phil! Watch it! It's coming back!"

Sure enough, the robotic dog had gotten back up, shook itself off for some strange reason, and growled again, targeting Phil. He jumped up and dived out of the way once more, barely evading the dog's full-force attack. "You know, Keel, I _could_ use some help!" he shouted, brushing himself off and sprinting to another side of the room.

Robbie cackled evilly, watching the scene before him unfold as he turned back towards Keely. "Cute stuff over there? Yeah right, Doofus! Like _she_ could do anything to help you!" He tossed the controller up into the air and spun it, catching it as it dropped back down and pressing another button.

The dog reared up and let out a shrill howl, then suddenly bashed its head into the ground, sending out a shockwave that knocked Phil into the air. He collided with the wall as if the shockwave had literally pushed him into it, and he slumped to the ground groaning, barely conscious.

Keely's eyes narrowed dangerously and she was instantly on her feet, hands balled into fists at her sides. The shackles crackled intensely at her wrists, as if it were a part of her anger itself, and she stormed up behind Robbie as he laughed obnoxiously at Phil's suffering. Picking up a large piece of hard rock that had once been a part of the crumbled pillar, she silently advanced towards him, a determined and definitely scary look haunting her eyes.

"For one---" She gritted through her teeth, swinging the rock directly across and smashing it against Robbie's head, temporarily stunning him as he swooned, "Phil's definitely _not_ a doofus."

She spun him around and stared him straight in the eyes, her face deathly calm. "He's the greatest boy I've ever met, so I really don't need you changing that. And two---"

With a powerful thrust she shot her knee upwards, colliding with a place that DEFINITELY turned out to be any guy's weak spot, even a robot's, and Robbie collapsed in pain with a gasp, doubling over.

Keely flipped her hair back casually and crouched down, slipping the controller out of his grasp as he rolled around, breathing harshly. She straightened and put a hand to her hip, smiling. "Don't mess with a pissed off girl. And don't ever think that we can't kick butt."

She turned and rushed over to where Phil was slowly pushing himself into a sitting position, rubbing the back of his head tenderly. "Ohmigod, Phil, are you okay?" Keely cried, dropping to her knees and tackling him in a fierce hug. He grunted in pain and she immediately pulled away, apologizing quickly. "Oh! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Are you okay?"

She helped Phil up to his feet and held onto him tightly, turning to see that Robbie was already back on his feet, no longer grinning. "Uh, Phil…what are we gonna do?" she whispered fearfully as they backed against the wall. "I really thought that he would've been put out for good on that last blow I gave him."

Phil laughed shortly, still breathing heavily from the last attack. "Keel…remind me to never make you mad ever again, okay? Cause I'm pretty sure that any other _human_ guy would've stayed down for at least a week from that attack of yours."

Keely smiled, but it soon faded as Robbie began making his way towards the both of them, cracking his knuckles with mechanical clicks. Phil looked down and noticed the controller clenched in Keely's hand, and a grin slowly appeared on his face. "Can't turn him off…but I bet a little dog could help us out."

"_What_?" Keely questioned, giving him a look before turning back to Robbie, who was steadily coming closer.

Phil grabbed the controller and studied the buttons, and his face lit up with recognition as he fingered the small device. "I've seen something like this before…"

"Phil…could you hurry it up, please?" Keely tugged at his sleeve nervously, as Robbie grinned maliciously just a few feet away.

Quickly, he pressed a button, and right on command the robotic dog barked and rushed towards them, wagging its tail as it came. Robbie halted as his eyes widened in horror, and he dove out of the way just as the dog skidded to a stop before Phil and Keely.

Keely stared on in awe as Phil leaned forward and pet it on the head, grinning widely when the dog dropped a heavy iron tongue out and panted happily. "You made him…good." She shook her head in amazement, blinking slowly. "This is the weirdest moment of my entire life."

Phil gave a goofy smile as he turned to look at her, and despite the situation they were in, Keely's heart gave an unexpected flip. No matter where they were, he always seemed to have that uncanny ability to...

She flushed and quickly tried to cover it up by pointing to where Robbie was slowly advancing once again. "Phil!"

Phil pressed another button on the controller, and with a gleam in his eye he smirked, stopping Robbie mid-step.

"Sick'um, boy."

Instantly the dog was on its haunches, growling viciously as it turned towards a stupefied Robbie. He let out a bloodcurdling, unnaturally high-pitched scream and made a mad dash for it, with the dog in hot pursuit.

Phil let out a soft chuckle before dropping to his knees, Keely following him in frantic worry. "Phil! Are you okay? Ohmigod!" He shot her an obvious look, rolling his eyes as his voice dripped with sarcasm. "Keel…I almost got trampled twice, I got hit with huge pieces of rock, and I smashed myself into a wall. Yesss…Of _course_ I'm okay!"

Suddenly his arms were full of Keely as she hugged him tightly, letting out a silent sob as her emotions unexpectedly took over. "You don't know how much you scared me. I thought…after he hit you…" she said in a ghost of a whisper, barely audible as she buried her face into the crook of his neck, tears threatening to fall at any moment. Everything she had been holding in the entire time finally burst through…all of her worries and fears and, most of all, relief.

"Keely…" Phil said gently after his surprise wore off, pulling her off of him and looking into her eyes with a warm smile. "I'm okay now, alright? It doesn't matter, once we leave it'll be like I never even got hurt."

She blinked once as something he had just said clicked in her mind, while everything else was forgotten for the moment. Her brow furrowed in thought and she leaned back, placing her hands on each side of her on the cold ground. "Phil…couldn't we have just taken off the Virtu-Goggles if we wanted to get out of this place?"

Phil gazed at her blankly for a split second before he slapped a hand to his forehead, moaning as he realized the reality of it all. "Oh my God. You have GOT to be joking!"

Keely suddenly laughed as the irony of the entire situation hit Phil right in the face. "Are you saying that we could've just avoided this _entire _disaster by simply taking off the goggles? And you thought _I_ was the slow one!"

Phil shot her a poisonous glare, folding his arms across his chest stiffly as he looked the other way. "Let's just get out of here." He muttered, raising his chin in defense while Keely laughed all the more harder.

"Phil…" she placed a hand on his shoulder as her laughter died away, and she gave him a small smile. "I had a great time at the movies, at least. No matter how much of a disaster this turned out to be…again…" she added, rolling her eyes as memories of her first trip popped in her mind. She cut her eyes back to Phil. "…Thanks. Really."

A grin slowly appeared on his face as he gazed at her beautiful smile, the sparkle in her eyes that told him that she had meant every single word. "No problem. C'mon," he sighed, reaching up to take off his goggles.

"Oh, and Phil…" he stopped halfway and glanced at Keely, a questioning look in his eyes. She smirked and took off her goggles, her voice already fading with the rest of her figure.

"You're sleeping on the floor tonight."

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**omg! was that long or what? lol...i really hope you guys liked it, this was extremely hard for me to write and i already know that it was pretty cheesy. haha...the dog. anyways, read and review please, as always! next chapter is up on christmas day! **


	14. Can't Stop the Awkwardness

**aah...i just HAD to add in this chappie, it was too tempting and i just couldnt skip this scene...so i hope you guys like it. its gonna be short, dont worry! im stressing anyways on trying to finish the christmas chappie...lol. enjoy, then!**

**_If Only You Knew_**

**Chapter Eleven: Can't Stop the Awkwardness**

"Hey!" Phil whined as he followed Keely up the stairs and towards his bedroom, tripping slightly over a step which resulted in a giggle from Keely. He quickly pulled himself up, flushing, and chased after her as she turned the corner and strolled down the hall. "Keel, it's _my_ room! Why do _I_ have to sleep on the floor?"

Keely stopped at his door and turned to face him, leaning against the doorframe and smiling innocently as she twirled a finger in her hair. "So you're saying that you'd make your best friend, a _girl_ no less, sleep on the floor?" Her smile widened when Phil halted in front of her, seemingly at a loss for words, and she shrugged. "Well, there we go."

"But---" Phil sighed in exasperation, dragging himself into his room after her as she plopped down on his bed, lifting her head to gaze at the ceiling. "Whoa." She gasped, eyes widening in awe as she stared not at a ceiling, but a shower of stars, as if she were looking at the sky itself. "You go to sleep every night looking at this? It's amazing!"

Mesmerized by the bright shimmer in her eyes as she lowered her head to look at him, Phil gazed at her in stunned silence before blinking hard and shaking his head to clear away his thoughts. "Yeah---I mean---Hey, don't change the subject, Keely!" He complained, a tinge of pink barely visible on his cheeks. "I can't sleep on the floor! It...it hurts my back!" Talk about a lame excuse. "I'd die tomorrow!"

Keely raised her eyebrows, leaning back against her arms as she placed them behind her on the soft comforter of the bed. "And you don't think I would either? Well then, Phil, what do you think we should do?" She laughed. "Share the bed?"

Phil's eyes widened in surprise at her suggestion. Did Keely even hear what she had just said? _'Probably not,'_ He thought shakily as he watched those three little words take a full blown effect on the girl in front of him just moments later.

Keely's mouth dropped open in shock of what she had just said as her face turned a deep shade of crimson almost immediately. "Ohmigod. Did I just say...I meant---I didn't---you know, maybe we could just, um..." She stuttered, desperately struggling to find the right words to cover up one of the most embarrassing moments of her life. Unfortunately, nothing could cover up the truth. Sharing the bed was probably the best thing to do---and both Phil and Keely knew it.

"You know," Phil mumbled, blushing furiously as well, "we _could_...share the bed...I mean, it's not like we'd _DO_ anything...right?" He scratched the back of his head nervously, daring to glance in Keely's direction as she shifted uneasily on the bed.

"Yeah---I mean, no---of course we wouldn't, it's just...a couple of friends, sharing a...a bed." Keely stammered, avoiding his eyes at all costs as she fiddled with her fingers timidly.

"Right!" Phil confirmed quickly. "So...we're cool then?"

"Yeah."

"Okay then. I'm gonna go...and get ready for bed..." He said slowly, motioning towards the door as he slowly backed out, laughing nervously as he turned and began to twist the doorknob.

"Wait!" Phil spun around at her voice and stared at Keely expectantly, and she pointed at the Wizrd sticking out of his pocket. "I'm gonna need that." she said softly, mustering a weak smile.

"Oh," He mumbled, face falling as he pulled his Wizrd out and tossed in into her open hands. "Sorry 'bout that."

And he walked out the door, leaving Keely to quietly browse through the Wizrd for something casual to wear to bed.

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The room was dark and silent, while outside a faint light could be seen as the engines of cars passing through the street softly echoed throughout the room, bouncing off the walls. Outside, if you were to look at the night sky, it would be completely black, stars seemingly inexistent because of the constant light pollution emanating from the small town. And yet, inside this room the stars shone by the millions, dazzling and breathtaking, yet calming and relaxing at the same time.

Only two young individuals lay beneath this extraordinary sight, gazing at the simple beauty as they lay side by side on the opposite ends of a bed. An uneasy tension filled the air, so thick you could cut through it with a knife; yet, somehow, it intertwined with serenity...a certain peace between the two teens that almost seemed to go by unnoticed.

"It really is beautiful, Phil," Keely whispered softly, a smile playing on her lips as she stared up at the vast illusion that was the ceiling.

"Yeah, I know," Phil replied, grinning in content. "You rarely see these sort of things anymore, especially in the future. It's a good thing the Wizrd has this feature, or I wouldn't be able to enjoy it like I do now."

He glanced at Keely, noticing how the dim white glow of the stars flickered in her eyes, making it seem alive as she continued to gaze at the ceiling in awe. "Keel..." He began hesitantly, and she turned to look at him. He gave her an apologetic look. "I'm really sorry about what happened with the whole Virtu-Goggling thing. I mean...the only two times you ever got to do it turned out to be a major disaster, and---"

"It's alright, Phil, really." Keely interrupted quietly, smiling as she shook her head slightly. "I had a good time before anything bad happened, and that's what counts. So stop being such a worrywart already!" She laughed, rolling her eyes playfully as Phil scowled. "Watch it, Teslow," He warned, squinting his eyes as her before breaking out into a grin.

"So..." he continued, turning back to look at the stars, "What were you trying to tell me before our movie night got ruined, anyway? You know, before I got knocked across the head and fell unconscious."

A few seconds passed and he was met with complete silence. Phil glanced at Keely again to see that she was no longer looking at either the stars or him, but down at her hands resting across her stomach. "Keel?"

"I...It's nothing. Nothing important, I mean." She said in a whisper, so softly that Phil almost didn't hear it. She bit her lower lip and shut her eyes as her mind screamed at her to tell him the truth, to tell him everything. But she couldn't, of course...not here, not now. It was already awkward enough laying next to him in his own bed, but to spill her feelings to him right at this moment? It was like planning her own funeral.

He knew she was hiding something from him. And he wanted to know, badly. _'But how can you say that when you can't even tell her anything yourself? When you can't even tell her how you really feel about her?' _His mind shot at him, accusing him. Phil sighed, and slowly he nodded. "Okay. Just making sure." He turned to his side, his back facing her, and suppressed a yawn. "G'night, Keely."

She gazed at his back silently before turning the other way as well, curling up under the blankets and giving one last look at the stars.

"Goodnight, Phil."

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Pim groaned as she made her way to her brother's room, grumbling incoherently to herself while running a hand through her tangled bed-hair.

"'Go wake up your brother and Keely, dear,'" She said in a high pitched voice, mocking her mother's cheerful tone before scowling once more. "Still don't see why _I'm_ the one who has to interrupt those two freakin' lovebirds and their sleep."

Pim walked up to the door and grabbed the doorknob, not even bothering to knock as she casually opened the door. "Hey, wake up and smell the coffee, you two, the weather's fixed and Mom's made a special breakfast just for Blon---"

She stopped mid sentence as she took in the scene in front of her, eyes narrowing in disgust. "Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me. That is just plain _sick_."

The two "lovebirds" were sleeping peacefully on the bed, Keely flush up against Phil's chest and his arm loosely draped over her waist and stomach, head resting on top of hers. Slowly, though, they began to stir, and Pim quickly closed the door, looking as if she was going to hurl.

"Oh God, I'm never waking them up again."

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Keely groaned softly upon hearing a voice she didn't recognize as her mother's, and she snuggled deeper into the warmth of the bed…and something else. Dazed, she suddenly realized with slight confusion that, for some reason, she couldn't move. 'Wait…' she thought groggily, pushing her hands against something solid directly in front of her, 'Where am I?' Slowly, she opened her eyes, expecting to see the decorated walls of her room---

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Barb looked over her shoulder as Pim came stomping into the kitchen, sitting down at the table and grabbing the milk and cereal automatically. She raised her eyebrows and turned, giving Pim a look. "Honey, did you wake Phil and Keely up liked I asked you to?"

Suddenly there was a shrill scream that came from upstairs, and both Barb and Pim glanced up towards the ceiling as a second scream, more masculine from the first, immediately followed.

Barb glared at her daughter as Pim gave a casual shrug. Back upstairs, a heavy thump was heard followed by the loud bickering of two certain teenagers.

"Yup." Pim answered simply, taking a bite of her cereal. "I guess they're up now."

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**A/N: lol. i hope that all made sense. i loved writing it, though now its like, almost midnight and ive still got the christmas chapter to finish. don't forget to read and review now! next chappie will definitely be up by tomorrow!**


	15. Christmas Crazes Part One

**yes! its my special christmas chappie for all you christmas day readers! i actually pulled through with it, im so happy! well, then, i hope you all enjoy. merry christmas, people. have a good one! **

**Disclaimer: no, i still dont own Phil of the Future. which is why i write this fanfic. which is also why i have the ability to do whatever i want with it, even if it means changing seasons just for this special chapter! for those of you observant ones, you have probably noticed that in an ealier chapter i mentioned that it was nearing summertime. well now its not! its winter now, okay? so forget i ever mentioned summer. this fanfic made a twist. hahahahahahahahahahahaha... :D**

**_If Only You Knew_**

**Chapter Twelve Special: Christmas Crazes Part One**

"So," Via began as she casually twisted the combination lock of her locker, glancing at Keely with an expectant look in her eyes. "How did your study time with Phil go? You must've spent the night at his house, seeing as the whole town was snowed in last night." Her head tilted slightly as she opened her locker door, adding quite obviously, "Unusual weather, though, wasn't it?"

Keely's cheeks flushed a tint of light pink as she pulled out a book from her own locker, and with a sigh she shut the door and turned to face her British friend. "It was okay, I guess. I actually understand triangles and all that sine, cosine, and tangent stuff now, so I think I'll be able to pass the test today." She shrugged and hugged her Geometry book to her chest, trying to avoid the penetrating gaze Via was giving her at the moment. This girl just knew her all too well, Keely thought wearily.

Unable to take it any longer, she rolled her eyes and sighed again in exasperation, dropping a hand to her side as Via raised an eyebrow. "Okay, okay!" Keely blurted out, a little too loudly. Her voice softened immediately at the look on Via's face before continuing, "We…we watched a movie, and I _tried_ to do what you told me to do…and it didn't really work that well." With that she shot an accusing glare at her friend, and Via put her hands up in defense.

"Okay, so it didn't go as well as you planned it…" she started, then paused, wincing slightly. "Awkward?"

Keely simply nodded. "Major."

"I'm really sorry, Keely, but sometimes things like this just tend to take time…especially since the both of you are so close to begin with," Via explained patiently as they both made their way to class, the first ring of the bell sounding loudly in their ears. "The tension between the two of you is going to happen whether you like it or not. The question is, can you handle it? And then turn it into something more?"

Keely sighed once again, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder. "I really don't know, V. But thanks…for helping me, you know?"

Via smiled in reply. "Of course, Keely. Anything for a friend." Her smile turned into a playful smirk, though, and Keely glanced at her in uncertainty. "Uh-oh. What now?"

"So…how was the movie, anyway? I'm guessing it must have been pretty good, or else you wouldn't be avoiding the subject right now." Via chuckled as Keely's mouth dropped open in surprise, and she rolled her eyes before stating the obvious. "It seems you haven't noticed yet that every time we come upon the subject of 'Phil', you tend to be quite evasive."

Keely scoffed and flipped her hair back, giving Via an offended look. "I do not!"

Via raised her eyebrows in amusement and waited for the truth to come tumbling out, which only took a matter of seconds.

"…Okay, maybe I do. Jeez, Via, how do you do that? Make me talk even when I don't even want to sometimes?" Keely whined, pouting as Via smiled knowingly.

"It seems to be one of my better traits," she replied simply, pushing open the door to Keely's Geometry class. "Well, good luck with the test, Keely. You _did_ sleep last night, right?"

Keely's eyes widened as she realized the true meaning of Via's words, and she whacked her arm as she passed through the door. "Whatever, V. See you next period!"

Via laughed again before quietly shutting the door and making her way to her own class, alone.

'_Sometimes I wonder if they ever _will_ get together.' _She said to herself, shaking her head slightly and smiling at the thought.

And with that she rushed through the classroom door just as the second bell rang.

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"Can you believe that Christmas is just two days away?" Keely exclaimed as she took a seat next to Phil in the cafeteria, directly across from Via and Owen. "I mean, it felt like just yesterday that summer was coming around!" (**A/N: hm...and yet, it WAS! muahahahaha...anyways, back to my twisted story.**)

"Well, time does fly when you're in high school," Via replied casually, making a face as she glanced down at what was supposed to be her lunch. "Is this even edible?" she asked in disgust, picking up her fork and poking the brownish blob that the lunch lady had called "meat loaf".

"Hey V, you gonna eat that?" Owen piped suddenly, mouth full with his own meat loaf as he pointed his fork at Via's plate. Looking as if she were overwhelmed with nausea, Via slowly dropped her fork and pushed her tray in Owen's direction, turning away in utter repulsion as he gladly accepted her lunch and dumped it onto his own plate.

Phil and Keely exchanged glances and pushed their trays away as well, feeling extremely sorry for the poor British girl across from them as she tried to avoid the mess Owen seemed to be tossing up. With a pleading look, Via scooted as far away from him as she could and mouthed, "Oh God, please help me!"

Finally, after slowing down enough to talk in between bites, Owen wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and grinned. "Dude, I totally forgot!" He shoved his tray away and leaned forward in his seat towards Phil and Keely, overexcited. "You two have got to come to the Christmas party I'm throwing tonight at my place! My 'rents are out, it's gonna be AWESOME!"

Keely raised her eyebrows in amusement, glancing at Phil who simply shrugged. "Okay...who's gonna be there?" she asked Owen, dropping her hands on the bench seat and leaning forward slightly as she waited for his reply.

Owen laughed. "Well, us four of course, and then a few other peoples from school..." He silently counted on his fingers, then suddenly slammed his hand on the table as he remembered something, causing Via to jump in her seat. "OH YEAH! And dude, this party is for like, couples only, so you two hafta come together if you wanna get in." He nodded seriously, though it looked like he had already forgotten what he was talking about. Sighing, Via shook her head in pity before glancing up at the two across the table.

Keely's mouth dropped open in surprise, and she laughed nervously to cover it up as Via gave her a knowing smirk. "Wait, wait, wait...what makes you think that I would've chosen to go with Phil anyway?"

Phil turned quickly, mumbling "Hey!" in defense, but Keely held up a finger to shut him up. "I mean, w-what if I wanted to go with someone else...or something?" she continued, ignoring Phil's complaints. "Like...Owen!" She pointed at the boy across the table, and Phil gave her a dumbfounded look.

"Owen?" He snorted, laughing as Keely shot him a glare. "Keel, I think the only reason Owen even _made _this party a couples-only thing was to have an excuse to chase around girls and persuade them to go with him. If he wanted to go with you he could've just _asked_...just like the last time." he added sardonically, rolling his eyes.

Keely eyes widened in shock and she scoffed, immediately going on the defense. "Well ex-_cuse_ me for accepting his offer after finding out that my best friend was _leaving_ that day!"

"I _told_ you right after that I was staying!" Phil countered swiftly, leaning forward in irritation, the memories already flooding back into his mind.

"Haven't we been through this already?" Keely hissed, eyes narrowing dangerously. "It was a little too late for that! I had already said yes! And _you_ went with Via, remember?"

"Because _you _went with Owen!"

"HEY!" Via shouted, standing up and leaning forward on the table, interrupting the argument before it got any worse. Stunned, both Phil and Keely turned to look at her, amazed at the fact that she had thrown herself into their bickering with such authority.

Via sighed and rolled her eyes, taking a seat once more as the couple stared at her intently. "Can we not reminisce about the past? Unless you two can _both_ find different people to go with, then you're going to the party together." She paused and pressed her fingers to her temple before continuing hesitantly, "Owen's...going with me."

Keely's eyes widened in complete shock as Phil's jaw dropped, and the argument was completely forgotten as they both gawked at Via, speechless. Owen grinned, popping a piece of gum into his mouth, and hung an arm around Via's shoulders as she groaned and hid her face in her hands. "Yup! Cause no one can resist the O-dawg! Right V?" He patted her shoulder and she turned the other way, a pained expression clearly evident on her face as she realized the biggest mistake she had ever made in her entire life.

Unable to hold it in any longer, Phil burst out laughing, shaking his head at the sight in front of him as Keely put a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud herself. "So, Via…why the change of heart, hm?" she asked somewhat nonchalantly, intertwining her fingers and resting them on the table as she tried to hold a straight face. Phil leaned in with interest, waiting for Via's reply. This was definitely something worth hearing.

With a defeated sigh, Via removed Owen's arm from her shoulders and stood up, getting ready to leave for her next class. "Do you remember the reason to why I was in such a hurry to leave yesterday?" She asked, addressing both Keely and Phil. Both nodded, though Keely seemed to have a hint of accusation in her eyes as she stared at Via attentively.

Via rolled her eyes as she heaved her schoolbag onto her shoulder, flipping her hair back before placing a hand to her hip.

"Well, the 'reason' followed me home."

With that, she waved a silent goodbye and left, leaving a confused Owen to stand up and chase after her. "Hey, Via, wait up! Am I picking you up tonight or what?" He called, before disappearing behind the cafeteria doors in close pursuit.

Phil turned to Keely and grinned as they both grabbed their trays and stood up to leave as well.

"So…I'll pick you up around seven, then?"

She smiled.

"Definitely."

---------------------------------------------------

"Is this too much? Or no? …Via!"

Via glanced up from her spot on Keely's bed and rolled her eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. "Yes, Keely, that outfit looks perfect on you…just like the other twenty outfits you've tried on!"

Keely sighed, frustrated, as she did a double take on herself in the full-length mirror on her closet door. Spinning around to look at Via in exasperation, she threw out her arms and motioned for her to look at the outfit she was wearing at the moment. "V, this isn't working for me! This one just doesn't…match with me tonight! I need to look perfect for this, you know that!"

Via sat up on the edge of the bed and crossed her legs, hands folded neatly in her lap. "Look, Keely, I'm just as much of a clothes fanatic as you are, you _know_ that…but don't you think you're over exaggerating a tad bit? It's just a Christmas party, for goodness sake!" She rolled her eyes and added, "And it's _Owen's_ Christmas Party, to make things clear, so I really suggest that you don't pick anything too…fancy."

She suddenly raised her eyebrows and smiled, placing her hands against the edge of the bed and leaning against them. "You're doing all of this for Phil, aren't you?" Her question was answered immediately as Keely's face turned a light pink, and she laughed lightly. "Well, whatever happened between the two of you yesterday must have been pretty big."

Via stood up and rested a reassuring hand on Keely's shoulder, turning her around to face the mirror once more. "Keely, don't worry about it, really! You look great, I'm sure he'll be amazed. Your efforts will pay off, I'm certain of it." She smiled as Keely's mouth opened to protest, but she closed it and nodded, a small shy smile playing at her lips.

"Plus, it's Christmas…and you look dazzling in green and red. You'll have a great time tonight." Via said softly, crossing her arms loosely across her chest.

Keely sighed, staring at her own reflection as Via strode away, and she closed her eyes as more thoughts and worries flooded her mind. Maybe Via was right. Nothing could go wrong, right?

Somehow…the feeling deep in her gut told her otherwise.

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Phil nervously made his way up the steps to the Teslow house, doing a last check-up on his outfit to make sure that everything was okay. His face fell as he gazed down at himself, mentally whacking himself on the head for dressing so fancy. It was Owen's Christmas party, for goodness sake!

He jumped at the sound of a horn beeping obnoxiously, and he turned to see his father's face through the car window, motioning for him to hurry it up. Rolling his eyes, Phil bounded up the final steps and slowly walked towards the door, heart beating loudly in his ears as he raised a shaky finger to the doorbell.

Suddenly, without warning, the door was yanked opened and Phil jumped back, letting out a small squawk of surprise as Via stood in the doorway, smiling. "Hello, Phil! We've been waiting for you!" She turned around and called Keely's name, then stepped outside and stood next to Phil politely.

Moments later Keely came rushing out and slammed the door shut behind her, leaning against it and breathing heavily as the sound of her mother calling her name was heard behind the closed door. She looked up, smiling nervously. "Mom has the cameras out. All three of them." She straightened up and sighed, playing with her hands and finally looking directly at Phil for the first time. "Um…should we go, then?"

Phil's jaw dropped as he took in Keely's figure under the dim porch light, eyes widening in complete awe and shock. She looked absolutely…amazing. Tiny Christmasy balls in red, green and white adorned her hair, which had been curled to perfection and fell lightly around her face and down to just below her shoulders. She wore a beautiful knee length, tube top emerald dress, matching her shimmering green eyes, of course. And to top it off was the dangling candy cane earrings, sparkling as it gently swung from side to side. Suddenly his own suit didn't look so fancy anymore as he gazed at her, mesmerized. "Wow, Keel…you look…" he tried to search for a word to describe it as Keely nodded, waiting for his answer expectantly.

Phil just shook his head. "…Great. You look great." Keely smiled shyly, eyes sparkling brightly as she replied with a soft "Thanks." Smirking, Via quietly cleared her throat, and both Phil and Keely turned quickly to look at her, snapping back into reality as a blush crept upon their cheeks. "Oh, and you look great too, Via, of course." Phil added hastily, grinning sheepishly as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

She just laughed, turning and walking down the steps towards the Diffy car. "Thanks. But we have a party to go to now, remember?"

The two flustered teens rushed after her, and together the three of them clambered into the car, their chattering fading away into the night as the car pulled out into the lighted street.

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**A/N: omfg….its like, 2:15 in the morning and im only _HALFWAY DONE_! well, im cutting this special into two separate parts, then, cause im about to fall asleep on my keyboard and christmas is already here. so if anything, ill have the next half up as soon as possible, i promise. if fact, if i have the chance, ill try to get both up today (since technically its christmas morning…very very early christmas morning), all depending on what time zone all you guys are in. anyways…merry christmas people, and goodnight!**


	16. Christmas Crazes Part Two

**okie dokie. heres the second half of the christmas chappie, just as i promised. sorry it's a bit late! enjoy!**

_**If Only You Knew**_

**Chapter Thirteen: Christmas Crazes Part Two**

"So V, explain to me _why_ you agreed to be Owen's 'date' tonight again?" Keely whispered in Via's ear as the they walked excitedly towards the illuminated house, which was decorated with hundreds of lights and other miscellaneous ornaments. Phil lagged behind, rolling his eyes as he watched his two friends do their little "girl talk".

Via raised her eyebrows at her best friend, arm looped in hers loosely. "You'd want the same thing to happen again, like last time? I'm doing this for you, Keely, so I hope you know that you owe me a _big _shopping spree sometime this Christmas Break."

Keely smiled brightly and leaned into her, laughing lightly as they quickly made their way to the top of the porch steps. "Oh, you're Christmas present's gonna be huge, believe me. It takes guts to accept one of Owen's offers."

Phil came up behind them as Keely rang the doorbell, and together the three of them stood quietly at the door, waiting. Footsteps were heard and moments later the door was pulled open, engulfing the three friends in a blare of loud, booming music. Owen stood in the doorway, grinning widely as he took in the sight in front of him.

"Awesome! You guys made it!" He gave a once over of Via and Keely, and his grin widened even more. "Hey, lookin' good, Via! You too, Keels!" The girls smiled and brushed past him, and Owen's mouth finally dropped open in awe as his eyes followed them closely. He spun back around and thrust an arm around Phil happily, causing him to stagger off balance and shoot Owen a glare.

"Dude...we are the luckiest guys in the _WORLD_!" Owen cheered, laughing as he glanced down at Phil. "Can you believe it? Scored the two most gorgeous girls in school!" He straightened and took his arm off Phil's shoulder, folding his arms across his chest as they watched Keely and Via get swarmed by a bunch of other girls from school. "Better make a move on Keels tonight, Diffster, cause this is gonna be the most romantic party of the New Year!"

Phil turned to look at Owen blankly. "Uh, Owen...it's still December. The New Year starts in January."

Owen nodded enthusiastically, eyes still focused on the two girls in his living room. "Exactly!"

Phil rolled his eyes, slapping himself on the forehead and sliding his hand down his face. Suddenly, though, he picked up on Owen's words, and his eyes widened in realization. "Hey! Why would I try to make a move on Keely? She's my best friend!"

"Uh, dude...cause you're like, totally in love with her."

"WHAT? No I'm not!" Phil laughed nervously, patting Owen on the shoulder. "You've got to be kidding me, O-dawg, you know I'd never fall for my best friend."

Owen laughed, rolling his eyes as he glanced down at Phil. "Oh, right, and the googling eyes you were giving her just now would be a 'friendly' look? Admit it, dude, you _so_ love Keely."

His friend gave an exasperated sigh and spun around to face him. "Fine! Maybe I _do_ like her a bit! Not like it changes anything! And why are you bothering me about this anyway? _You're_ the one always trying to ask her out!"

"Whoa, whoa, Phil, don't be hatin'," Owen said, raising his hands in defense as Phil gave him an accusing glare. "I gave up on Keels a _long_ time ago. She's totally yours. V's my new target now" He grinned, raising his eyebrows and pointing at where Via was sitting on the couch with Keely.

Phil glanced towards the girls in amusement and laughed shortly. "Well then, Owen, you go for it! I'm rooting for ya, buddy," he reassured, patting him once again on the shoulder before starting towards the living room.

"Dude, remember what I said about Keels!" Owen called after him loudly, causing him to twitch slightly in irritation. "Sure, why not," he muttered, rolling his eyes as he made his way through the crowd of teens.

---------------------------------------------------------

"I thought Owen said he was only inviting a 'few other people from school,'" Keely stated dryly, glancing around the crowded living room from her place on the sofa. "I don't even _know_ half of the people here."

Via groaned, dropping her elbow on the armrest and propping her chin up against her hand. "Well, obviously Owen's perspective of a 'few people' is slightly off." She rolled her eyes and sighed, giving her friend a look. "Remind me why I'm doing this for you again?"

Keely smiled innocently, leaning back and making herself comfortable. "Because you're such a good friend, and you're willing to put up with Owen just to see me happy." She furrowed her brow in thought and cocked her head, giving Via a puzzled look as a thought suddenly came to her. "How _do_ you put up with Owen, anyway? You're like, the only person I know who's actually able to keep him in check without going insane."

Via shifted in her seat ever so slightly as Keely's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "In fact, lately it seems like you actually _enjoy_ keeping him in check. Via…don't tell me…you're actually…" Her eyes widened in shock as the realization hit her full force. "You like him, don't you?"

Via quickly turned at Keely's accusation and raised her hands up in defense, shaking her head furiously. "NO."

"You DO like him!" Keely repeated in awe, a smirk creeping onto her face as she leaned towards her friend in excitement. "You like him a _lot_!"

"There is absolutely _no_ proof for your assumptions, Keely, and I refuse to say _anything_ that will give you any chance to think otherwise." Via replied coolly as she folded her hands neatly in her lap, narrowing her eyes as she stared at Keely stubbornly. "Just be lucky I'm doing this for you, or _you _might've been the one on this little date with our good friend Owen."

Keely just grinned, shaking her head in disbelief and turning around to lean against the back of the sofa. "And speaking of the devil," She said lightly, glancing back at Via, "Here's another one of our good friends now."

Phil emerged from the crowd and slowly made his way towards them, three cups filled with soda clenched tightly between his two hands. He dropped down on the couch between the two girls, handing one cup to each of them and taking a sip from his own. "Owen's bringing us the pizza," he said casually with a lopsided grin. "Since we're all so special, he says that we get our own box."

Via rolled her eyes. "Lucky us."

Keely smiled knowingly, giving Via an amused glance. "So, other than the fact that we've only been here for about ten minutes…" She began, turning back to look at Phil, "Having fun so far?"

"Yeah, I guess." He answered with an indifferent shrug, putting his cup down on the coffee table in front of them. "I mean, other than getting shoved around by a bunch of people I don't even know and almost spilling the drinks all over myself, I'd say I'm doing pretty good." He gave her that trademark goofy grin, and her heart unintentionally skipped a beat.

"Okay, dude and dudettes, the pizza and drinks have arrived!" Owen announced loudly over the booming music, pushing his way towards them while balancing four cups filled to the rim with soda on top of the pizza box. "Oh, you guys already have the soda?" He inquired, disappointed, as he finally came to a halt directly in front of them. "Dude, and I made them special, too---"

Suddenly he yelped and jerked forward as a random kid bumped into him from behind, and the already unstable drinks flew off the box and towards the three teens on the sofa. Keely and Via let out a small shriek and shrunk away to the opposite ends of the couch while Phil was left in the middle, staring wide-eyed at the cups heading straight for him.

**SPLOOSH.**

"Oi…" Owen mumbled softly as the two girls raised a hand to their mouths, the three of them staring at a completely drenched Phil, speechless. Running a hand through his dripping hair, Phil slowly closed his eyes and exhaled through his teeth, an eyebrow twitching ever so slightly.

"Phil?" Keely asked timidly, reaching over to lay a hand on his shoulder.

"Owen…" Phil said in a low voice, and Keely quickly pulled her hand away at his tone.

"Yeah?"

"Where's your bathroom?"

"Oh," Owen answered quickly, scratching the back of his head uneasily. "Uh, upstairs, second door to your right. Shouldn't miss it."

Without a word Phil stood up and slowly made his way through the crowd, leaving Keely, Via, and Owen to stare at his retreating back in complete silence.

Suddenly Owen let out a nervous laugh, which caused Keely and Via to turn in his direction and give him a questioning look. "What now?" Via moaned while Keely narrowed her eyes in suspicion, both of them waiting expectantly for an answer.

"Well, see, my 'rents actually left me here cause they went to some Christmas Dinner Party with one of my aunts and uncles, right?" Owen began, emphasizing a little too much with his hands out of nervousness. "So I just made this party to spice things up, you know, get our little groove on before Christmas without them knowin'---"

"Owen," Keely interrupted, exasperated. "_What the heck is going on_?"

"Yeah, see, I kinda had to babysit my little cousin Chris, and he's upstairs right now playing in my room---"

He was interrupted by a loud yell and a thump from upstairs, which caused them to glance at the ceiling, startled. Keely and Via shot Owen an accusing glare as he grinned sheepishly, immediately continuing with his story.

"---but he wanted to play with someone cause he was bored, and I wouldn't play with him, and---and---" Owen intertwined his fingers and twisted them in his hands, desperately trying to avoid the piercing glares from both girls. "My room's right before to the bathroom." He finished quickly, cringing slightly when both Keely's and Via's eyes went wide and their mouths dropped open.

Via whipped her head up to the ceiling in apprehension and moaned, "Owen, please don't tell me Chris follows in your footsteps."

"Hey!" He cried, offended, but then backed away in fear when she and Keely shot him a cold, deathly stare. "Yes! He does!" He confessed quickly, hesitating for a split second before adding, "But he's…much worse."

"Ohmigod." Keely whispered in horror, bringing a hand up to her mouth. "Phil's gonna be traumatized for the rest of his life."

"Owen, stop the party and tell everyone to leave immediately." Via ordered sternly, giving him a hard gaze. "They shouldn't even be here. After you've done that meet us upstairs. We may very well need backup for this."

As Owen rushed away to turn off the music, Via put a reassuring hand on Keely's shoulder, voice softening.

"Come on, Keely, let's go. Phil needs us---" Another yell was heard upstairs. "---desperately."

-------------------------------------------------------

An hour later, four exhausted teenagers collapsed on the sofa, groaning softly as they were welcomed by the comfort of the cushions. Finally, after several seconds of silence, there was an outburst of giggles as Owen, Keely, and Via all shook with laughter at the situation that had taken place.

"Dude, that was _hilarious_!"

"I have to admit, it _was_ pretty funny when we finally got in."

"Pretty funny? V, he was tied up and playing tea party with the kid! I mean, did you really expect to see _that_ when we actually opened the door?"

Phil, on the other hand, remained silent, glaring at the other three before throwing his head back and moaning in despair.

"Hey, buddy," Keely said cheerfully, grinning as she turned to him. "You okay?"

Phil gave her a look before retorting, "Sure, I'm fiiiiiine. I mean, I only got drenched with soda and knocked out by a little eight year old who tied me up with some rope and forced me to play _tea party_ with him for the last forty five minutes. It's no big deal, really!" He rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest defiantly. "I hate Christmas," he muttered under his breath, pouting like a little kid.

"How did your cousin tie Phil up like that, anyway?" Via asked Owen in wonderment, slightly amused at the fact that such a small boy could actually do such a thing.

"Definitely my side of the family, of course!" Owen declared proudly, pounding his chest as he puffed up with pride.

Via simply rolled her eyes. "Oh, please." She glanced around at her surroundings. "You know, we never had a chance to eat yet. And---" She took a glimpse at the smashed pizza box on the table in front of her in disgust. "I think our original one is pretty much destroyed. Owen, why don't you---"

"Whip up some homemade grub? Sure, V! Thanks for askin'!" Owen cut in brightly, jumping up off the couch and, for some reason, dusting himself off. Via winced somewhat and continued, "Well, I was _going_ to say to order another pizza, but…" she gazed at the disappointed look on Owen's face and sighed, dropping her original idea immediately. "Sure, why not."

"Really?" Owen asked, perking up immediately as a smile lightened up his face. "Thanks, Via!" he said sincerely, before yanking her up not-so-gently and dragging her into the kitchen with him. "You can help me out, then!"

Via gave one last fleeting look at Keely, who shrugged helplessly and mouthed, "You threw yourself into this one." She sighed and was pulled out of sight, and Keely swore that she saw a ghost of a smile on Via's lips before she disappeared into the depths of Owen's kitchen.

'_And there's my proof,' _she thought with a smirk before turning back to a sulking Phil and scooting closer to him.

"Hey, c'mon, Phil, it wasn't _that_ bad, was it? I'm sure Chris had a blast!" Keely laughed and patted his shoulder reassuringly, which earned her a weary, scowling glance in return. "Oh, don't be so childish about it, I bet you liked it at least a _tiny_ little bit." She added, rolling her eyes playfully.

"Not really," Phil answered quietly, staring out into nothingness as the music was turned up once again from the stereo inside the kitchen. He shook himself out of his own reverie and turned to look at Keely, an unknown emotion glimmering in his eyes. "I messed up your entire night, Keel, not to mention the entire party itself." He laughed shortly, rubbing his eyes. "But then again, that always happens with Phil Diffy, huh?"

Keely gazed at him in silence, trying to think up something that would make her best friend feel better. He looked so adorable, though, sitting there pouting about his little mistakes…

She smiled, shaking her head as she heaved a small sigh. Good old Phil. Always thinking of others before himself…and always trying to make the best out of things and then unintentionally screwing them up in the most unusual ways possible. But then again, these things were to be expected from a boy who came from the future, right?

A slow, sweet song drifted through the room from inside the kitchen, and Keely turned to look back at Via, who had reappeared just outside of the kitchen and was grinning at her as she leaned against the wall. "Go," she mouthed, nodding slightly, and Keely broke out in a smile before turning back around.

"Maybe you do mess up a lot of the time, Phil," she said softly, pulling herself off of the sofa and holding her hand out to him. "But it really doesn't matter to me." She smiled shyly before adding, "You wanna dance?"

Phil raised his eyebrows in surprise but of course didn't refuse the offer. He took her hand in his and stood up, pulling the both of them to a more open space to dance. He dropped his hands to her waist just as she wrapped her arms around his neck, and they slowly began to sway with the soft tune of the music.

"So you're saying that even though I messed up this entire Christmas party, you really don't care?" Phil inquired, cocking his head as he gazed at the blonde beauty directly in front of him. "I mean, it must've taken forever just to get ready, knowing you," he continued jokingly, which earned him a warning look from Keely. "Kidding!" he said quickly when he felt her arms slowly begin to slip from his neck. "I was kidding!"

Keely laughed, squinting her eyes at him in mock threat. "Don't diss the valuable 'getting-ready' time, mister, or you've got something else coming your way."

Suddenly there was a "Dude!" coming from near the kitchen, and both Phil and Keely turned quickly to stare at Owen, who was pointing above them eagerly and grinning like crazy. Via was next to him, smiling knowingly, her eyes resting on a spot above them as well. Puzzled, they looked up.

"Oh God, and I thought Owen was taking care of this place." Phil groaned, staring at the plant dangling from the ceiling in disgust. "Now he's got weeds growing in his house."

Keely stared at him in shock, completely thrown off by his words. "Wait…what? Phil, you don't know what that is?"

He lowered his eyes and looked at her, confused. "Why? What is it?"

The look in his eyes melted her entirely, shut her whole system down. _'…So cute…' _Without another word, without another thought in her mind, Keely did the one thing that her heart had been screaming for her to do ever since her mind had finally figured out just how much she was in love with this boy.

Time slowed down and froze over as her lips gently touched his, sealing their very first kiss in the moment that had become everything…the moment that would seemingly last forever. Nothing else mattered anymore and all was forgotten, because in that moment there were only two people sharing a miracle and nothing more. And as she gradually pulled away, that moment became one to never be forgotten.

She smiled as his face registered pure shock and bewilderment, and slowly she let her arms drop from his shoulders as she pulled away.

"It's called mistletoe." She whispered, gazing directly into his deep chocolate eyes. "You should look it up sometime." Then, with a wink, Keely turned and walked towards the kitchen as a faint, pleasant aroma filled the air.

Phil stood there, stunned, as her words combined with what had just happened took a full blown effect on him. Suddenly a blissful grin appeared on his face as he swayed ever so slightly, his words fading into the night.

"I love Christmas."

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**A/N: well now! that was definitely a twist, yeah? lol…i hope you all liked it. im probably going on a break now, cause i just updated six whole chapters in less than two weeks, and frankly, im worn out. seriously. but this story isn't over yet, so don't worry! anyways, right now its about 3:00 in the morning, which means its my birthday! yay:P wells, i hope you guys had a great christmas! read and review please, as always! **

**:much love:**

**-jaime-**


	17. Race Against Time

**hallo! school has started back up, and WOW, the load of schoolwork has been like, totally easy! so...here's another chappie for you guys! hope you like! sadly, the end of this fanfic is sort of in the distance...depends on how much i put into each chapter, but im not sure yet. anyways, this might be a boring chapter, so i dunno...be prepared or something.**

**okie dokie. no more rambling. enjoy chapter...what is it, 14? or 17, if you count those stupid authors notes? whatever. lol. :P**

**Disclaimer: ive forgotten about this on a few of my other chapters, but you guys know i dont own PotF anyways. -sigh-**

_**If Only You Knew **_

**Chapter Fourteen: Race Against Time**

Time.

The one thing in life that can't be stopped, can't be held back or ignored. Like a clock, it ticks; from mere seconds to minutes and then hours, fading from day into night, just to be brought back around again as a new day commences...just as quickly as the days before it have. It's what produces life yet takes it away as soon as it comes, like a never-ending cycle.

_Time. _Something so complex that the greatest human minds are unable to comprehend it, and yet so simple that it passes naturally through the brain without a second thought...until that person begins to wonder.

It's a concept that raises questions that are found almost impossible to answer. Why, in one moment, does it pass by so slowly where a minute seems like an eternity, then suddenly whizzes past so quickly that we're unable to keep up? Why is it that time supposedly heals a broken heart, yet can also be the cause of its suffering in the first place?

Time affects us every single day, whether we like it or not. We may try to ignore it, push it aside so that we may live in the moment forever…but it continues on, without any consideration to those who try to fight against it.

And that's why…sometimes…it's a race against the clock.

---------------------------------------------

A gentle winter breeze blew through the small town, rustling the leaves of trees and causing a young sparrow to fluff its feathers for warmth as it gazed at the two young teenage boys playing basketball below. A swish of the net was heard as the ball passed through with ease, and the taller boy whooped as he threw his arms up into the air in triumph. Startled by the sudden noise, the sparrow took off from its perch with a furious flap of its wings, searching for a new and hopefully quieter spot to rest.

"Dude, that's the tenth basket I've made today! Sweet!" Owen chortled, bending down to pick up the ball and spinning it carelessly on the tip of his finger as Phil wiped the sweat off his forehead a few feet away. "What's up, Diff-o? You've got a total of, like...zip points!"

Phil rolled his eyes. "Maybe you haven't noticed, Owen, but there's kind of a height disadvantage here," he replied sardonically, bending over and placing his hands on his knees impatiently. "Come on…let's go one more game."

"I dunno, dude," Owen said brightly, casually bouncing the ball as he slowly advanced towards Phil. "Seems to me like the Philly Cheesesteak has something else on his mind." He shrugged and took a mad dash to the left, only to be blocked by Phil almost instantly.

"What are you talking about?" Phil questioned defensively, charging to the right to block Owen once more from getting to the basket, which was bolted above the Diffy's garage door. "I have no clue what you're talking about, Owen, so don't think you can just distract---"

Suddenly Owen skidded to a halt and turned to point at the sidewalk behind them, eyes wide. "DUDE, ISN'T THAT KEELY?" he exclaimed loudly, holding the ball to his chest with his free hand and waving cheerfully with the other.

Instantly Phil dropped his guard, frantically looking around Owen to search for any sign of his best friend. "_Where_?"

He was answered with another soft swish, and he turned to see Owen leaning against the garage door with his arms folded across his chest, grinning from ear to ear as the ball bounced off to the side, temporarily forgotten.

"Duuude…Thought so."

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"How's this look?" Keely did a quick once-over in the mirror before turning to face Via with a hopeful expression, modeling what was currently outfit number 14 of the latter. Not bothering to hear her friend's response, mostly because of the fact that she was giving her that expectant look again, Keely shrugged nonchalantly and closed the door to her changing room again with a quick, "Eh...Nevermind. Too fuzzy."

Via sighed and walked towards the door separating her from Keely, leaning against the wall beside it. "Keely, please, just stop trying to find your way around the subject! Christmas Break won't last forever, you know." Other than the quiet shuffling of clothes and the occasional clicks of a hangar hitting the hooks on the wall, she was met with complete silence.

Slowly Via closed her eyes, raising a hand to her temple wearily before trying once more. "You've avoided him for an entire week, Keely, without a single explanation or reason to your actions. Don't you think he deserves the right to know why you've been treating him like a ghost ever since that party?"

There was a slight pause behind the door, and moments later it opened to reveal Keely in the original clothes she had worn to the mall, hand tightly clenching several hangers of assorted clothing. An unfamiliar emotion haunted her eyes, accompanying the unexpected change of mood that was all-too strange for the usually bubbly teen, and Via was suddenly hit with a pang of deep sympathy as she gazed at her best friend with worry.

"I kissed my best friend, Via," Keely said softly, closing the changing room door behind her before placing the unwanted outfits on a rack nearby. "I kissed Phil. _Phil!_" she repeated loudly, exasperated, the words she had been holding in for so long finally tumbling out. "You can't just…_expect_ everything to be normal after that!"

She made her way through the store and towards the exit, Via close on her heels as she tried to reason with her. "Keely, I'm not saying it _should_ be normal, just that you need to tell him these things! Yes, you kissed him, but there's a reason for that! Don't you think he'd be confused, especially since you did the _right_ thing under the---"

"Mistletoe?" Keely finished for her, whipping around to face Via once they were outside and in the bustle of hurried shoppers. "That's the thing, V, Phil didn't _know _what that mistletoe was, and that's why I'm so _stupid_!" She let out a soft whine and started walking again, this time toward the food court. Via followed immediately, eyes scrunched in confusion.

"Wait…he doesn't know what mistletoe is?" She inquired, catching up to Keely and linking arms to keep her from rushing away, especially with the current state she was in. "What…how…wait, Keely, slow down!"

Keely sighed in frustration and massaged her eyes with her free hand, trying to come up with a decent excuse to why a boy from the future didn't know anything about a normal, _present-day_ Christmas tradition. "He just…I don't know, he just didn't know what it was! He asked me about it before…_that_…happened, and even after knowing it I _still_…" Not bothering to finish the sentence, Keely let out a groan and shook her head as they slowed down in front of the food court.

"That's a bit strange, though, don't you think?" Via said after a few moments of silently registering everything Keely had told her. "I mean, who's ever heard of a person who _doesn't_ know about---"

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"---mistletoe, and that's why it didn't mean anything, Owen, I'm telling you! I looked it up and everything, and it wouldn't make sense if it did!" Phil was saying, voice full of obvious disappointment as he took a difficult shot at the basket and missed completely. "What is that, an 'H'?" He asked, jogging over to pick up the ball.

Owen shook his head vigorously as Phil passed him the ball. "No, it's a 'P'! We're not playing _Horse_, dude, we're playing _Pig_!" He took a few steps back towards the edge of the driveway and shot the ball, making it in the basket effortlessly. "SWEET! Beat that, Diffster!"

Phil groaned and ran for the ball again. "So why are we playing…" He paused, eyes narrowing in puzzlement. "...'Pig'...again?"

Owen gave him an obvious look as Phil walked over to take his place to shoot the ball. "Uh, duh…cause pigs are AWESOME!" He let out a cheer as Phil missed the shot once more. "_YEAH_! That's an 'I' now! Two down, one to go!"

Phil rolled his eyes and motioned for Owen to get the ball for once as he folded his arms across his chest stubbornly. "Look, all I'm saying is, Keely only kissed me because of that mistletoe being there, not because she _wanted_ to kiss me." '_Though I wish she did,_' he thought silently, but kept that little part to himself.

Owen laughed incredulously, bouncing the ball to another side of the driveway and aiming for the basket again. "Dude, believe me…_no girl_ kisses a guy like that unless she's into him, take it from the O-dawg." Another swish was heard, and he let out a whoop as the ball fell through the net. "OH YEAH!"

Phil grabbed the ball and walked towards Owen, no longer putting any more thought or effort into the game. "We're talking about Keely here, Owen. Not just some girl…we're talking about my _best friend_!" He threw an arm out in exasperation. "How would _anyone_ know if that kiss meant something more?"

Owen exhaled through his teeth, a hand behind his head and his brow furrowed in thought as his mind worked out his next "wise words". "O-kay…you want some advice from the O-dawg himself, Diff?"

Phil seriously thought about it for a few moments before shrugging hopelessly. "Couldn't hurt, I guess."

Taking the ball from his hands, Owen aimed for the basket and threw it, and with a soft swish the ball fell through the net one last time before bouncing off into the grass. "Dude, there's only one thing you _can_ do, and that's to---"

-------------------------------------------------------------

"---talk to him." Via finished, poking her fork into the soft piece of meat on her plate and focusing on the girl in front of her. "Or else everything the two of you have worked up to until now will be lost."

Keely sighed, playing with her bendy straw aimlessly before taking a sip of her soda. She slouched back against the chair in defeat and put a hand to her head, wishing all the stress away with a bitter laugh. "It always comes back to the talking thing, doesn't it?"

Via glanced around the food court, at the dozens of couples around them engaging in their own chipper conversations at various tables, and shrugged. "Usually, yes. But that's not the point," she added hastily when she saw the irritancy on Keely's face. "The point is, Phil's not just your friend anymore, or at least that's how _you_ feel about it. And if you're truly falling in love with him, Keely…_tell him_. You can't keep pretending that nothing's happening between you two, because obviously, there is."

Keely straightened in her chair and took a deep breath, nodding slowly as the realization finally hit her. "You're right. I have to tell him. I'm _going_ to tell him," She declared with a little more certainty, before falling back against the chair with a tiny smile. "Um…maybe a little later on, though. When I'm actually ready for it."

Via smiled reassuringly, bringing the fork up to her mouth and eating the last of her lunch before replying, "Don't worry, Keely…you've still got a lot of time."

_Time. _Instantly the smile was wiped off Keely's face, and even though she tried her hardest to keep it from consuming her thoughts, the word echoed loudly through her mind, planting itself into her deepest fears like so many times before. _Time._

"V…" She said shakily, quickly standing up and tucking a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "I'll be right back, okay? Gotta go…to the bathroom…" And with that she was off, leaving behind an unsure and completely confused Via to wonder what she had said to cause such an unexpected reaction in her best friend.

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Even as she made her way through the tables and chairs of the food court, all the way past the lighted hallways that led to the women's bathroom and even through the door, the word continued to haunt her mind, torturing her…practically mocking her.

The one word that made her world come crashing down every time she thought of the chances, the possibilities…and the truth of it all. The one word that caused so many problems in the first place, all because of the fear of losing _him_. The one word that made her cherish the past, love the present…and ignore the future.

Leaning heavily against the bathroom counter, Keely slowly brought her head up to look at her reflection in the mirror, an unfamiliar face full of worry, fear…and despair. Her mind was racing, heart beating erratically out of control, and she didn't even know why. Who knew that time could have such an effect on just one teenage girl?

She knew she had to tell him her true feelings. And from the way she was hit with so many different emotions while around him, along with the constant fear lurking in the back of her mind of what could happen at any possible moment, she knew that she had to tell him soon…before he left her forever.

So why did it seem like soon was already too late?

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**A/N: YAY! finally done with chapter 14 (17)! hm…im very sorry if i bored you to death. Ooo…is this possibly a foreshadowing? or no? sorry…but youll just have to wait and see! as for now…you know where that review button is! thanks so much…ill update as soon as i can!**

psssst…the little grayish review button is down here…lol…

v v v v v v


	18. Apprehension

**sorry for the long wait. heres the next chapter! hopefully its not too short...anyways, this chapter is entirely on phil, so if you were hoping for some keely-time, im sorry to disappoint you. she might be in the next chapter…i think.**

**Disclaimer: i just own the creativity of the story. not the plot, not the characters (haha...i wish)...eh. you get the point. -shrug-**

_**If Only You Knew**_

**Chapter Fifteen: Apprehension**

"So you're coming tonight, right?"

"Obviously, Owen. It's Pickford's New Year tradition, the whole town's going to be there."

"And you're gonna talk to her, right?"

"I probably have to anyway, with you practically chewing my butt off abou---"

"And you're not gonna chicken out?"

"Why would I chicken out? Owen, we talked about this yesterday, remem---"

"Cause you're gonna tell her you love her, right?"

"OWEN!" Phil nearly shouted in exasperation, smashing on the buttons of his controller furiously as the two boys stared transfixed at the t.v screen in front of them. "Shut up, already! You've been asking me the same question the entire---wait, WHAT?" He abruptly cut himself off and turned to look at Owen, whose last question had finally registered in his brain.

The sound of an explosion attracted Phil's attention back to the television, and Owen whooped as his character on the screen struck a winning pose. "And the O-dawg wins again! Dude, you can't beat the master of the X-box!" He suddenly jumped to his feet and broke out in one of his strange dances, Phil staring up at him with a mixture of amusement and slight fear.

"Uh…" Phil carefully stood up and backed away towards the door, making sure to stay out of Owen's reach in case the teen accidentally toppled over and knocked him unconscious. "Well, Owen, it's been fun hanging out at your house, but…I'm just…gonna head home now, alright? See you tonight."

Owen nodded feverishly before going into what seemed to be a 70's style break dance, and Phil quickly rushed out the door before anything potentially dangerous had the chance to take place.

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The wind howled in his ears as he strolled along, and Phil glanced up at the dark, threatening clouds in the sky above. With an inward groan he quickened his pace, not wanting to be in the midst of the upcoming storm.

'_Good thing that New Year's Eve party is indoors,'_ he thought with relief, inhaling the thick, damp scent lingering in the air. All of a sudden, though, an involuntary shiver ran down his spine, causing him to stop abruptly, confused. Strange…even with the bad weather, it wasn't the slightest bit cold at the moment…

Deciding to shrug it off, Phil continued to make his way along the sidewalk with his hands shoved in the large pocket of his hooded jacket. Still, that eerie chill continued to seep into his skin, and within a few minutes he began to shiver.

He didn't know why.

As he came upon the Teslow residence as a part of his usual route home, Phil gazed at her window on the second floor, hoping to see even the slightest bit of her figure if she happened to be in her room. Unfortunately, no matter how slowly he walked by, Keely never appeared. Maybe she was out shopping with Via, or maybe she was just doing something else with her time.

Either way, he didn't know. He hadn't seen her during the entire Christmas Break, aside from Owen's Christmas Party. They'd been avoiding each other for a reason, that much was certain to Phil.

But he missed her. No matter how awkward it had been after that kiss, no matter how good the reason was to stay away from her, he missed Keely. A lot.

And yet, the next time he would see her…he'd have to confront his feelings to her as well, whether he liked it or not. Because unless he cleared things up, all that awkwardness, all the tension…it would only get worse. And as much as he missed her, Phil couldn't help but hesitate about the entire situation itself. Was it because he was afraid of her reaction, of what could happen to their friendship if he said the slightest thing wrong?

Or…was it something else?

He couldn't comprehend it, even as he walked up the steps to the place he had called home for so long. The rain was starting to fall, heavy drops that drenched the ground around him almost instantly, the sounds of water hitting the pavement echoing loudly throughout the quiet street.

Phil gazed out at the rain silently for a few moments, hoping to clear out the crowded thoughts consuming his mind. But instead, for some strange reason, it only brought back memories…

_- - -_

_They were sitting on his porch steps, side by side, staring out at the sheets of rain just as the sun began to set below the horizon far off in the west. The rays of light reflected off the falling raindrops, causing them to sparkle and glitter before quickly splattering on the ground, untouched from the clouds above. It was a rare sight to see, to have sunlight on a rainy day like this…and the two witnesses gazed at the sight before them in complete and silent awe._

"_Hey, Phil?" Keely asked softly, turning her gaze slightly in his direction as he nodded in acknowledgement. "Back home, d' you get to see all of this? I mean…is everything still the same like it is right now?"_

_He turned to face her, confused at why she would ask such a question, but answered nonetheless. "Well…not really. In 2121, we've advanced so much with technology that we really don't see the natural things in life anymore. Or at least stuff like this." He motioned towards the rain and the beautiful sunset, and she gave a small, almost sad smile._

"_But do you miss it?"_

_No longer looking at or thinking of the rain, Phil turned to look at Keely completely, wondering where this was going as his brow furrowed in uncertainty. _

_She let out a tiny sigh before continuing hesitantly, "The future, I mean. I know you and your family have been stuck here for like, ever…so don't you kind of miss it?"_

_He looked out at the rain again, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah. We do, actually. It _is_ our true home, so I guess it's expected." He glanced at Keely, whose head was now bent over and staring at her lap. "Keel, you okay?"_

_She quickly pulled her head up and nodded, though still averting her eyes away from his. "Yeah, yeah…I'm fine. But…" she hesitated again, as if she were unsure of how to say it. "Wouldn't you…_

"…_Wouldn't you miss this place too?"_

- - -

He didn't know why and how that memory found its way into his mind like that, but it only caused more confusing thoughts to enter his already cluttered brain. He had to stop thinking so much…he had to go and get ready for that party. And he had to get ready to face her.

Clutching onto the doorknob, Phil slowly began to open the door when another chill suddenly shot up his spine without warning. Something just didn't feel right…

But just what _was_ it?

He was surprised to find his entire family quietly waiting for him on the other side of the door, including Curtis. Certainly an unusual site, especially since the family was barely ever found to be all together at one time during this time of day. It of course, probably meant only one thing…the one thing that right now, he refused to believe, no matter how many signs were pointing straight to it.

"Honey…" Barb began softly, walking towards her only son as he stared at them with apprehension in his eyes. "Your father, he was working on the time machine this morning, we didn't think it was actually going to happen…"

He wasn't listening to her. He couldn't. He already knew. But it was too soon, this shouldn't be happening, not now, of all times…

He was supposed to tell Keely everything. He was supposed to finally find the truth, for both himself and her, before it was too late. Before he lost her. So what was he supposed to do now?

Suddenly, all he wanted was to be back outside, back in the rain, lost in his memories…forever.

"…We're going home, Phil."

And suddenly, the rain looked like tears.

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**ehehe...sorry for making it so dramatic. anyways, these next few chapters might be a bit difficult for me, especially since its sort of nearing towards the end…so please bear with me. as always, ill try my best to update as fast as i can! much love and appreciation!**

**as for now, that review button looks very tempting…-hint hint-**


	19. Bittersweet New Year's Eve

**okay, ive got my trusty brain food (fritos chips), so lets get started with the next chapter, shall we?**

**-EDIT- this stupid chapter pissed me off, it wouldnt upload onto the document manager for all of last night and this morning! argh! super stressful...have you guys had this problem before? anyways, now that its finally worked, im all good. so onto the story now. -END EDIT-**

**Disclaimer: if i owned the show, keely and phil wouldve gotten together looooong ago. seriously. **

_**If Only You Knew**_

**Chapter Sixteen: Bittersweet New Year's Eve**

Silence.

That's all that was heard as they slowly drove to their destination. Cold, unbearable silence.

Staring out at the passing cars and lights and losing himself in his troubled thoughts, Phil could only wonder what to do next. It had seemed unlikely, it had almost seemed _impossible_, and yet...his father had been able to fix their one and only ticket back to 2121. A year or so ago, he would have been overjoyed to return to his future, to return to the one place he called home.

But what exactly defines the meaning of _home_? A simple place to live? Or...is it something more? In most cases, the term "home" would probably be best described as one's personal sanctuary, a place where that person feels most safe and comfortable. The place where one is truly...happy. Because home...is where the heart is.

A year ago, the place he called home was in the future, in the year 2121. But that was _before_ he met Keely.

And at the moment, the only place that seemed like home now...was when he was with her.

So why was Phil supposedly going back "home"...when it was already right here?

_---Earlier---_

_"We're…leaving?"_

_"Sweetie, we're sorry," Barb said softly, immediately at Phil's side as she embraced him tightly. "We know it's been a while, and everyone has gotten so attached to this place, but it's just not where we're meant to be! We belong in the future, it's where we're from, and nothing can change that."_

_"Son, your mother's right. We know how you feel, but our home is back in 2121." Lloyd explained patiently, making his way towards Phil as well and placing both hands on his son's shoulders. "It was only a matter of time before I would fix the time machine, you know that. We just didn't think it would take so long. And now that it's actually fixed..."_

_"But what about our life here?" Phil finally burst out, a fresh wave of emotions exploding from him all at once as he ripped himself out of his parents' grasp. "What about everything we've done, everything we've worked for, everything we've learned here? It's all going to go to waste? What about Curtis? What about..." He stopped abruptly, slumping against the wall when the full realization hit him and shattered his entire being. _

_"What about Keely?" he whispered fearfully, gradually sliding down the wall until he hit the ground, his words echoing through the deafening silence of the room. What about Keely?_

"_Well, sometimes you have to let go of the ones you love." _

_Phil's head shot up so fast that his neck almost cracked, and the entire family turned to gape at Pim, who had suddenly spoken out of nowhere from her spot on the couch._

_She sighed, rolling her eyes as she heaved herself from the comfort of her seat. "Face it, bro, you knew this was coming. The best thing you can do for Little Miss Sunshine is to just…let her move on." _

_Making her way to the stairs, Pim turned back once more to glare at her family, who was still staring at her in astonishment. "What?" she asked in irritancy. "I can give my own advice if I feel like it, can't I? What a bunch of losers, I was only trying to help…" She bounded up the stairs to her room, muttering to herself under her breath the entire way._

_Barb blinked once before turning to face Phil again. "Phil, honey, as much as I'd hate to say it---"_

"_Not to mention how much it shocks all of us as well," Lloyd added hastily before going quiet, cringing slightly at the sharp glance his wife had just given him._

_Barb sighed and continued, "You're sister's right. Sometimes, the best thing to do when you really care about someone is to let them go. I'm sure Keely will understand, she always has---"_

"_But you don't get it!" Phil blurted out desperately, quickly pulling himself up off the ground and shaking his head furiously. "She won't understand, it's not just about her! I was going to tell her---she---we---argh!" He continued to make frustrating weird gestures with his hands, unable to come up with the right words to say. Finally, his arms went limp at his side, and Phil slowly brought his gaze up to his parents._

"_Why…why did it have to happen now?" He said in a voice barely above a whisper, and Barb's heart shattered into a million pieces as she watched her only son fall apart right in front of her eyes._

_Lloyd moved forward and once again placed a comforting hand on Phil's shoulder, hesitating somewhat as he gazed sympathetically at the boy in front of him. "Son…why don't you rest for a bit before getting ready for the party? Tonight's our last night in Pickford, so let's make the most of it. We'll pack up tomorrow, say our final goodbyes, and leave in the afternoon. There's nothing we can do." He dropped his hand and began to make his was to the stairs when Phil's voice stopped him mid-stride. _

"_There's nothing we can do? We can stay here! What's stopping us? We all love this place and you know it, dad! Why is it so hard for the both of you to agree with me when you know it's true?"_

_His shoulders slumped in defeat and he turned to look back at Phil with regret. "I'm sorry, son."_

_And he slowly made his way up the steps, a hand wearily massaging the back of his neck._

_Barb gave her son one last hug as he stood there in disbelief, finally realizing how helpless he was to the entire situation that was unfolding right before his very eyes. "Please, Phil," she whispered in his ear before pulling away, her voice filled with sorrow. "You have to understand…the Diffy's just don't belong here."_

_She followed her husband up to their room, unable to take one more look in Phil's direction in fear of falling apart herself. Curtis decided that now was not the time to try and cheer anybody up, so he slowly inched his way out the door to the garage, making sure to stay as far away from Phil as possible._

_As he stood there, the weight of practically…everything…suddenly hit him full-force, and he collapsed on the couch behind him with his head in his hands. _

_And for the first time in his life, Phil Diffy was completely, utterly…alone._

_- - -_

"Okay, you two, we'll meet back at the car exactly half an hour after midnight." Barb instructed to her kids as they stumbled out of the car despondently. Her voice softened at the sight, and she glanced at Lloyd before pleading, "Please…Phil, Pim, try to make the most out of tonight. It's our last night here, at least make it worth remembering."

Phil just turned away, staring dully at the festive lights and sounds and the cheerful events taking place just outside of the town hall. Even Pim, who usually had a dose of sarcasm with her snappy replies, was silent. They both made their way into the crowd, leaving the two helpless parents behind them to worry and wonder if the choice they had made, not only to leave this century but to force their own kids into an environment that might only cause more pain and sorrow…was the right thing to do.

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"Hey," Phil said in a low voice, nudging Pim before she had a chance to walk away. "You don't seem so happy yourself. I thought you hated this century, don't you _want_ to go home?"

Pim slowly turned to face him, and Phil's eyes widened in surprise at the sincerity in her eyes, even though her tone was the same as always. "You live in a dump like this for too long and it grows on you," she replied quietly with a slight shrug. "I'm better off here tormenting the Fashion Zombies and trying to conquer the world…than being an isolated loser back in 2121. Looks like _that_ isn't gonna happen, though..."

Before he had a chance to say anything else and possibly create a rare "moment" between the two of them, though, she quickly disappeared in the bustle of the crowd to do her final round of tormenting and scheming. Sighing, Phil continued to weave through the packs of numerous people popping various firecrackers, some familiar faces and some not. It really didn't matter to him anyway. Nothing seemed to matter anymore…

He brought his eyes up to the sky and realized that the rain had let up quite some time ago, and now only low, thick clouds loomed overhead. _'So much for the fireworks show,'_ he thought absent-mindedly, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets and quickly jumping out of the way of a stray groundflower firecracker.

Gazing down at it with interest, Phil watched as the firecracker burst into a colorful rainbow flame of red, yellow, and green as it spun rapidly on the hard cement. Many people stopped to watch the sight in awe as several more groundflowers were thrown, all of which ignited and produced a beautiful display of light and sound. Nothing lasts forever, though, and before long the firecrackers slowly died out, taking along with it the excitement and beauty that it produced, yet bringing in a desperate longing that only caused the kids to quickly light and throw more.

Phil continued to watch until the entire box of groundflowers was used up within half a minute, and gradually the small crowd watching dispersed, chattering among themselves. Only then did those kids realize that…maybe savoring and enjoying the moment while it lasted, rather than taking advantage of it…would have probably been the better thing to do all along. It was a simple misunderstanding that, if put into a different perspective, seemed to remind Phil painfully of his current situation…

Suddenly hearing a familiar shout, Phil glanced up and shook his head to push away his thoughts, noticing Via and Owen in the clearing up ahead. Owen was unmistakably trying to get his attention by jumping up and down and waving an ignited sparkler in his hand like a crazed maniac, while Via desperately tried to calm him down to no avail. He attracted some attention, all right…but mostly to those around him, who seemed to be cowering away in fear of a sudden attack of some sort. They probably thought he was drunk, but to those who knew Owen, this was perfectly normal. If you could _call_ it normal, that is.

Phil raised his eyebrows in amusement and stifled a laugh despite his mood, and he pushed through several more people before finally reaching the clearing in front of him.

And that's when he saw her.

----------------------------------------------------

Keely knew something was wrong with him the moment he became visible to her in the crowd. After all, she _was_ his best friend, and she knew him better than she probably knew herself.

He was grinning when he looked at her, but somehow that smile didn't reach his eyes. Even as he hid behind Via laughing when Owen suddenly advanced towards him, trying to target him with a fresh can of Silly String, she could tell that something troubling was on his mind.

She wanted to ask him about it, ask him what was wrong. But she was afraid of what the answer could turn out to be. She was afraid that his answer would only confirm her deepest fear, and because of it she remained silent as she witnessed the hectic scene taking place between her three close friends.

Maybe it was just the tension from that kiss a week ago. Maybe he just felt awkward around her because of it, something that would be cleared up soon enough once she explained to him the reasons behind it. That had to be why, right?

She desperately hoped so.

---------------------------------------------------

"Dude, I'm telling you, I _swear_ the chicken had a lighted sparkler in its mouth, I _saw_ it with my own eyes!" Owen insisted as he mounted a huge helping of mashed potatoes on his plate and moved to the next pan in the buffet line.

Via rolled her eyes from her spot behind him, obviously not convinced. "Owen, how can a wild chicken even _get_ a sparkler in the first place? It's close to impossible!" She picked up the serving spoon and helped herself to a much smaller portion of mashed potatoes, eyeing Owen's plate with slight disgust.

"Plus the fact that chickens have _beaks_, not mouths," Keely added, giggling when Owen accidentally dropped the pair of tongs he was holding in the teriyaki sauce. He checked to see if anyone else had noticed before quickly fetching it out, shaking it gently and offering it to Via sheepishly.

Via slowly pushed his hand away, a little more than appalled, and offered a small but desperate smile over Keely's shoulder to Phil. "Phil, you have to convince him that a chicken can _not _hold a sparkler, or else he'll have an entire story to go along with it by the end of the night!" She pleaded quietly so Owen couldn't hear…though he was probably too engrossed with the food in front of him to be paying attention to them anyway. "I do _not_ want to be the one who…"

She trailed off, squinting her eyes in confusion when she noticed that Phil didn't even seem to have noticed her talking and was instead staring aimlessly at his plate. "Phil?"

His head shot up instantly as he turned to look at her, suddenly coming back to his senses. "What? Oh, yeah, don't worry, I'll work on it." Phil laughed nervously as the two girls gave him puzzled looks, quickly averting his eyes to his plate again when he saw Keely's face fill with worry.

She probably knew something was up by now.

Taking advantage of the situation, Via quickly but gently shoved Owen towards the punch bowl with a chipper, "Could you excuse us for a moment? Owen has to refill his stomach with red…sugary…fluids." Owen, who was completely oblivious as usual, shrugged and happily began to drag Via along with him.

Phil quickly began helping himself to the assorted dishes, piling food onto his plate while trying to act as normal as possible. "Come on, Keels, we should probably save a table before they're all taken…" He started to make his way to one of the few empty tables left, avoiding eye contact as much as possible and hoping to God that Keely would just let the whole thing go---

"Hey."

The soft tone of her voice instantly stopped him in his tracks, and very slowly he turned, finally locking eyes with her for the second time that night.

"What's going on, Phil?" she asked in a voice barely above a whisper, her face full of worry, confusion…and fear.

He had to tell her. He knew that it couldn't wait much longer, that the longer he waited the worst it would be. But even though he knew just how important this was, he couldn't bring himself to break it to her. Not now, when tonight was the last night he would ever spend with her. So he lied.

"It's nothing, Keel," he assured, offering her a genuine smile. As long as she was happy, there was nothing wrong…and it was going to stay that way. At least until that moment came…

She didn't believe him, and it only caused her worry to deepen tremendously. "Look, if this has anything to do with what happened last weekend at Owen's, I'm really---"

Phil cut her off with a shake of his head. "Don't worry about that…I understand the whole mistletoe concept, it's okay. Let's just…let's just have a blast tonight, okay? No more moping from me, I promise." He offered her his hand, and she reluctantly took it.

For some reason his hand lacked the warmth that she was so familiar with, and an involuntary shiver ran up Keely's spine as he led her to a table. In that moment, both desires that she had held inside for so long clashed together in an all-out war. She had to tell him everything, she had to let him know her true feelings _now_, and yet…there was a cold, unnatural feeling deep in her gut that forced her to keep silent...

She played along with his little game, pretended that everything was okay, even when, deep down, she knew that something was horribly wrong. But Keely refused to believe it. Her heart refused to accept what seemed so painfully obvious from the moment she saw him in the crowd…

And so the night wore on, and gradually the fear in both Phil and Keely's hearts subsided, practically forgotten. But the clock continued to tick closer to midnight, closer to the New Year…and closer to the end.

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"Owen, watch it!" Keely shrieked, jumping out of the way and hiding behind Phil as her teenage friend tossed a firecracker high into the air directly above her with a gleeful cheer.

"Oh, let him have his fun, Keel," Phil said brightly, laughing when a can of Silly String suddenly appeared out of nowhere in Owen's hands, much to Via's horror. "It's New Year's Eve, the only time Via will actually let Owen near her when he goes nuts. You _gotta_ enjoy that kind of entertainment!"

They watched in amusement as Via squealed and was covered from head to toe in the thin, foamy substance emitting from the can. It was even more amusing when Via suddenly pulled out her own can of Silly String with a devious smirk, possibly one that she had snuck out of Owen's "supply box", and began to shake it furiously. Owen's eyes widened in fear before turning to face Keely and Phil, giving them a silent, desperate cry for help.

"You're on your own, O-Dawg," Phil yelled, shaking his head, and Keely suppressed a laugh as Via popped open the cap and sprayed Owen full-force.

"I gotta say, Via's pretty skilled when it comes to taking revenge," she mused, folding her arms across her chest with pride. "Now _that's_ what you call a reliable friend."

"Come on, though, you know they're going to get together someday soon. It's so obvious it's not even funny!" Phil exclaimed, before furrowing his brow in thought. "Actually, no, it _is_ funny."

Keely sighed in exasperation. "I know! Isn't it so _irritating_ when two people who everyone knows are supposed to be together are just too clueless to do anything about it?"

Phil rolled his eyes. "Some people really _are_ clueless. I'm surprised Via hasn't even realized it yet."

"Oh, no, she does, believe me. She's just in denial about the whole situation…" Keely trailed off as she took in her surroundings, noticing for the first time that the crowd that was originally surrounding them had suddenly disappeared. Confused, she turned to face Phil again. "Hey, where did everybody---"

"Dude, the countdown's starting, everyone's up front by the huge party ball thingie!" Owen called out to them as he and Via rushed ahead to where everyone seemed to be gathering, still covered head to toe in Silly String residue.

Keely gasped and glanced down at her watch, grabbing Phil's hand and pulling him after their two friends. "Ohmigod, Phil, we're gonna miss the countdown up front! It's already almost midnight!"

Instantly Phil's entire body went stiff as her words echoed in his brain, triggering a chain reaction in the back of his mind and causing his world to fall apart all over again, only this time it was much, much worse. It was already midnight…

"_Okay, you two, we'll meet back at the car exactly half an hour after midnight."_

No…it was too soon, time couldn't have flown by that fast…

"…_our last night in Pickford…"_

He stopped abruptly, causing Keely to jerk backwards and turn to look at him in confusion.

"_We'll pack up tomorrow, say our final goodbyes, and leave in the afternoon."_

In less than 24 hours they were leaving, they were never coming back…and Keely…

"_There's nothing we can do..."_

"Phil?" A chill began to seep into the depths of her heart once again as Keely stared at him with worry, her hand still clenched tightly in his. She shook it furiously as a feeling of dread began to overwhelm her, eyes frantic as she desperately tried to understand what was going on. "_Phil_!"

Her voice caught in her throat as Phil slowly brought his gaze to hers, an unreadable expression clearly evident on his face as his breathing suddenly became shallow.

And instantly, she knew.

"No…" she whispered with a mixture of terror and disbelief, shaking her head. "This isn't happening, this _can't _be happening, you can't be…"

"Keel, I was going to---"

"_NO!_" She ripped her hand out of his, backing away as tears threatened to form in her eyes. "I knew it! I should've…I knew that you were---" Her voice cracked, and she shook her head again, suddenly unable to breathe.

"Keely…" Phil whispered, walking towards her again, but she only backed further away, causing his heart to crack even more.

"_Why didn't you tell me?_" She asked in a voice that was almost inaudible. The countdown had begun. "Why didn't you…" She held back the tears forming in her eyes and took a shuddering breath, instead asking the inevitable question that her heart feared the most. "When?"

He hesitated for a split second before gazing at her again, voice full of sorrow and regret as she finally smashed his heart into a million shards. "Tomorrow afternoon."

A thousand firecrackers went off with a deafening explosion as screams and cheers were heard not too far away, the sky filling with smoke immediately. The bright white flashes from the exploding firecrackers blinded her, and she found herself spiraling back in time, back to a certain nightmare that had taken place over what seemed like an eternity ago…the blinding light disappeared, and he and his family were gone…

Owen and Via made their way to their two friends, laughing and smiling as they gazed at the sight behind them. "You both missed it, the party ball opened and an entire roll of firecrackers came out and ex---" Via was cut short the moment she saw the scene in front of her, and the smiles were immediately wiped off both her and Owen's faces. "Ohmigod…"

It was taking everything in her will to keep Via from running over and comforting her best friend, so instead she asked the only question that had formed in her mind. "Keely, _what's going on?_"

But neither she nor Owen was even acknowledged.

Keely slowly brought her gaze to Phil, and finally she heard her heart shatter as her world came crashing down around her in pieces. Backing away once more as the tears finally began to fall, she said the only words she could muster, words that were filled with sadness, hurt, and bitter irony.

"Happy New Year, Phil."

And before a single teardrop could hit the ground, she was gone.

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**A/N: you know, i really should have warned you guys about the whole dramatic stuff, i think. sorry about that...its too late now. so anyways, guess what? i finished this chapter exactly at midnight, how totally cool is _that_? well, i worked very hard on this chappie, so hopefully it was worth you time, eh? please dont forget to review then, tell me what you guys think of this chapter. reviews make me happy, and reviews make the world go round. oh...and reviews make me update faster too. hehe. thanks again for reading! luv ya! ;P**

**oh, one more thing…if the whole "groundflower firecracker" concept confused you…sorry about that. i really dont know if it even makes sense, so just go along with it. and if it _does_ make sense…then let me know, so i can cheer :D**


	20. Unspoken Goodbyes

**ive become obsessed with some of these korean songs my good friend gave me. pretty decent songs, koreans make. gooshee, slow love songs. lol. **

**also, thanks so much for the lovely reviews, especially for the long, extremely feel-goody ones. its really helped a lot, im just several reviews short of 200! _WOW_! i cant thank you guys enough. you all _rock_! well, onto the story, then…**

**Disclaimer: I have just as much ownership over PotF as Oreos have ownership over milk. that doesnt even make sense, im just eating these on-the-go mini oreos right now. so...uh...i dont own PotF. **

_**If Only You Knew**_

**Chapter Seventeen: Unspoken Goodbyes**

She silently made her way up the steps and to the door, hesitating with her hand on the knob when soft sobs from the other side reached her ears.

Biting her lip, she let out a small sigh and her eyes closed, seriously reconsidering her involvement in the current situation. After all, this had nothing to do with her...she only wanted to do what she thought was right. She only wanted to help her best friend.

But maybe…now…wasn't the time for that.

Without another thought in mind that could possibly change her decision, Via turned and slowly made her descent down the staircase, shaking her head sadly when Owen gave her a hopeful look from his spot near the front door.

"I can't possibly do this now," She whispered, offering Keely's mother Mandy a small smile of thanks as she and Owen walked out the door and into the early sunlit morning. "Keely needs some time to herself, no matter how much we want to help."

Owen stopped to gaze at the Teslow house once more before running to catch up to Via, the thoughts occupying his mind obviously overflowing by now. "The thing is, what's with her anyways? Diffster must've done something totally bad to ruin her New Year like this. Dude…" He silently shook his head and watched in sympathy as the girl next to him threw out her arms in exasperation.

"That's exactly the point!" Via cried out, raising a hand to her head in dismay as they made their way through the town park. "Why _would_ he do such a thing in the first place? Phil was so upset as well, though, I don't even know if I should hate him or feel sorry for him! We don't even _know_ what's going on, for heaven's sake, and they're our best friends…"

Her voice wavered and Via gave a shuddering sigh, shoulders slumping in defeat as the sounds of firecrackers exploding and little kids' squeals of glee ricocheted throughout the playground. "This isn't how we're supposed to be spending New Year's Day, Owen." She sat down on the bench behind her and put her head in her hands, distraught. "I just don't know what to do right now."

Owen fell against the bench next to her, ignoring the cheerful activity taking place around them that normally would have attracted his complete attention. "Wait…you're telling me you're giving up? I thought you always had a solution…thingie…to everything!" He leaned forward and tried to lock his eyes with hers, but she turned away, shaking her head with a soft, bitter laugh.

"I guess sometimes I can't always be the person everybody wants me to be. And obviously, I can't even be the helpful girl who looks out for her best friend when she's completely devastated for _whatever_ reason it is."

Gazing down at Via in sadness, Owen sighed hesitantly and, to both of their surprise, slid a comforting arm around her shoulder, gently pulling her the slightest bit closer to his side.

"Hey, don't say that, V," He ordered quietly, lifting his head up to the sky and staring at the clouds above them. "You did what you thought was best…I think. Right?" He glanced down at her for confirmation and she nodded blankly, eyes wide and fully aware of the arm that was currently clutching her shoulder.

"So…right now the best thing for our two little chickadees is to have their little alone time. So don't worry about it," He finished, offering her a reassuring grin.

Despite the fact that her mind was desperately trying to refuse the gesture of kindness from her usually obnoxious friend, Via couldn't help but smile and lean into Owen as they both lost themselves in their own troubled thoughts. Maybe, just maybe…Owen wasn't so bad after all. But then again, deep down, she had already known that.

She only hoped now that he was right, and that Keely and Phil could somehow work everything out…whatever it was that was going on between them.

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The steady ticking of her clock resonated loudly in her ears as Keely watched her two friends close the front door of her house and make their way down the porch steps in obvious disappointment. She quickly moved away from the window when Owen seemed to turn around and gaze directly at the spot she had previously occupied, and within moments she once again collapsed on her bed as another broken sob escaped from her throat.

Still, the clock continued to tick, taking away the precious moments of time she had left before Phil disappeared from her life forever…

It was actually kind of ironic how, on the last day she could ever spend with the most important person she's ever met, she had instead decided to confine herself in her room to suffer with her own misery.

But she couldn't go to Phil now. Going to see him meant that it was truly the last time she would ever get to be with him. Going to see him only made the nightmare she refused to believe…a reality. And going to see him confirmed that time really _does_ conquer everything…no matter how much destiny or fate tries to fight against it.

And yet, at that very moment, even as she sat there waiting, time was winning once again…

Keely shook her head vigorously as her anger and frustration heightened, the ticking of her alarm clock now almost deafening. It didn't care…like always, it continued on its way, without any thought for the past or the present, only looking towards the future…and he didn't seem to care either…

Unable to take it any longer, Keely knocked the clock off her nightstand in exasperation, watching through glistening tears as it crashed to the floor with a sickening crack. The ticking stopped immediately, but it didn't stop the inevitable…

She knew she didn't have much time left. She had to go to him, she had to confess to him what she had been holding in for so long…

But how could she tell Phil she loved him now, when her biggest fear had already begun to unfold?

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A light gust of wind tousled his short, dark brown hair as Phil stared out at the neighborhood he had lived in for so long, the place he had gotten so used to over the past year. But his thoughts drifted back to the girl…it always came back to the girl…

He knew he couldn't stay. And because of that, he couldn't reveal his true feelings to Keely, not anymore. Even if she did in fact love him just as much as he loved her, it wouldn't matter, would it? He'd be gone in an instant, and everything they had worked up to until now would be lost. Why even burden her with more than she could carry? He knew she was already devastated with the fact that he was leaving…the New Year's party had told him more than enough.

But he wanted to tell her. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life regretting and wondering what could've happened if he had just uttered those three simple yet so powerful words…

No. He'd say goodbye without revealing the truth, and just maybe…Keely could move on without him interfering in her life any longer. She deserved it, she was his best friend, and he was determined to make it happen.

With a defeated sigh and a heart broken beyond repair, Phil slowly turned and made his way back into the house to continue packing just as the wind lifted the scattered leaves near his feet into the air, a swirl of brilliant reds and browns that slowly dissipated into the sky.

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Her shoes lightly scraped the cement as she made her way through the quiet neighborhood, eyes barely scanning her surroundings as the wind whipped her silky blonde hair into a tangle of loose knots.

Tucking the stray stands behind her ear in slight irritancy, she finally looked up and stopped dead as a familiar boy came into her view. He glanced up and, noticing her almost immediately, halted as well, a mixture of surprise and…sadness…gracing his features.

For a moment it was as if time had seemingly slowed down just enough for them to search the other's eyes for the truth…for everything they _wanted_ to say but just couldn't come out and say it…words that could never be expressed in what little time they had left.

Then time was on its way once more, and the moment was lost as he finally broke the silence.

"Keely…I was starting to think…that you weren't going to show up."

Keely let out a soft, bitter laugh, shaking her head as she ripped her eyes away from him. "You know I wouldn't let you leave without…" She trailed off as a new wave of fresh tears began to form, and she stubbornly blinked them away. No, she promised herself she wouldn't cry anymore, she promised herself she would stay strong...for her own sake and his…

Phil watched on in helpless sorrow as his best friend struggled to hold in her composure, and instinctively he closed the distance between them and clutched her shoulders gently, forcing her to look him in the eyes.

"You know I wouldn't do this unless I really had to, Keel." He whispered softly, locking his gaze with hers to show her that he meant every word. "I only want what's best for my family. They miss the future, they miss their home---"

"And what about you?" Keely interrupted, not really trusting her voice anymore as it cracked the slightest bit.

"You know that this place means the world to me." Phil replied firmly, eyes blazing fiercely. "You know that _you_ mean the world to me too. But sometimes…" His gaze softened and once again filled with sadness…and an emptiness that she had never seen there before. He dropped his arms and turned away as a chill sunk into his skin, the realization that only caused him to voice it aloud.

"Sometimes…the world isn't enough..."

Keely let out a shuddering sigh, one that a person gives when all hope is seemingly lost, and one that conceals the distinct sound of a heart shattering…all over again. A sad smile played its way onto her face as she turned, gazing at the fading sun low over the horizon.

"There's something I want to show you, Phil." She murmured suddenly, grabbing his hand and quickly pulling him in the other direction, to a place only she knew existed. If there was anything she could do for him before he had to leave, it was this…

Phil was about to protest, knowing that his time was limited, but there was something about the sudden, faint shine in Keely's eyes that caused him to stomp down any sign of refusal or complaint. Instead he remained silent, his curiosity taking the better of him as she steadily weaved through various streets and trees to the destination only she seemed to know of.

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Minutes later Keely was helping Phil reach the top of a small drop-off overlooking the town, leading him over a widespread plain to the other side with a few stumbles and trips along the way. Now leaving him behind, she ran ahead like a carefree child, stopping abruptly at yet another drop-off and patiently waiting for Phil to catch up.

Panting, Phil doubled over as soon as he reached the spot next to his best friend, failing to look out at the scene in front of him in an attempt to catch his breath. "Keel, what are we doing, it's almost sunset, I have to---"

"Look."

The soft, peaceful tone of her voice stopped him mid-sentence and slowly Phil raised his head, finally taking in what Keely had wanted to show him with wide eyes.

The sun was a red-orange blaze from behind the thin, wispy clouds cloaking the horizon, and rays of light glittered like dancing candlelights on the surface of a vast, enclosed lake, surrounded by lush trees and bushes that glowed in the sunset's spectrum of reds, oranges, and yellows. The breathtaking scene was untouched, shining in all its beauty for the only two astonished witnesses in its presence…a spectacular picture worth a million words that would remain in their memories forever.

Phil turned to face Keely in utter disbelief, hardly able to speak. "It's…amazing…"

Keely stared out at the horizon, a faraway, reminiscent look in her shimmering emerald eyes as a light wind lifted her hair, seemingly bringing it to life.

"I accidentally stumbled on this place a few years ago, before I even met you," She said softly, a smile evident on her lips as memories came flooding back like it was just yesterday.

"I don't think anyone else even knew it was here, it was like this place was especially for me…a place where I could lose myself forever. A place where all my troubles would just…disappear."

She brought her gaze to him, and only then did Phil realize that her eyes were glistening with unshed tears as she continued to speak in the same soft, faraway voice.

"I haven't been here in ages, though…I stopped coming after you landed here over a year ago. I didn't really need to come here whenever you were around, for some reason…I guess it was because I was already happy just being with my best friend. I didn't need anything more…"

With the tears already flowing now, Keely turned back to the fading light, wrapping her arms around herself and shivering as the warmth slowly disappeared with the sun.

"I always knew you'd leave, though. Even though I didn't want to believe it, even though I didn't want to lose my best friend…I always knew that one day, sooner or later, it would happen. I just didn't think it would happen so soon, you know?"

She let out a broken laugh, shaking her head at the irony of it all. "I mean, it's only been a little over a year…and the moment I start thinking that maybe, just maybe, you wouldn't pack up and just…disappear…it actually happens..."

Phil's heart plunged down deeper into an endless cold as the guilt wracked his body. This was all his fault…if he hadn't shown up in this century, if he hadn't met Keely, if he hadn't fallen in _love_ with her…

As if she had read his mind, Keely continued with a small, heartfelt smile, "But it was worth it. Being with you was the best thing that probably ever happened to me, even if I had to live with the fact that you wouldn't be here forever. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way."

She wiped away her tears, clearing her vision so that she could see everything in front of her…and so she could see him.

"This was always my special place. A place that was truly…precious to me."

She finally turned to face Phil completely, gazing directly into his eyes with such emotion that he couldn't bear to look away.

"And now…it's yours as well."

And as the first true smile that day reached her lips, Keely said the only thing she had left to say, desperately hoping that it was enough to give even an inkling of everything she still held deep inside her heart.

"It's ours."

For the first time in his entire life, Phil was completely…blown away. Somehow, his best friend had taken every shred of misunderstanding, despair, and hurt and meshed it together to create…perfection. Somehow, she had turned everything upside down…and yet, nothing seemed more right…_felt_ more right…than it was now. This wasn't just a bunch of heartfelt, truthful words…

He was looking at Keely's very soul.

And suddenly, everything made complete sense. He didn't need to hear her say it, and she knew that she didn't have to. Suddenly…

There was nothing left to hide.

Neither of them really knew what happened next. All it took was the feeling of his lips pressing against hers to take Keely into a whole new world where nothing else existed…where time no longer made a difference as they lost themselves in this hidden paradise. She instinctively wrapped her arms around Phil's neck as he encircled her waist, both of them desperately trying to forget the fears and worries that threatened to overwhelm them, threatened to tear them apart…

And time allowed them one more moment to truly cherish, a moment to look back and reminisce on everything in the past…and prepare themselves for whatever obstacles the future held.

Phil gradually pulled away and instantly regretted it when the warmth from their apparent closeness drained from his body, leaving him with the same chill from before that had nothing to do with the air around them. He gazed into Keely's glassy eyes as she struggled to hold in yet another wave of tears, gently biting her lip and savoring the unexpected kiss the both of them had just shared.

Still, the soft, orange glow of the fading sun only made her seem even more beautiful than she already was, and Phil frantically tried to think of something to say as the moments quickly faded away and time began to run out. "Keely, this isn't…I can't just say---"

She simply put a finger to his lips, shaking her head as a single tear fell across her cheek. "Then don't."

His eyes registered surprise and confusion, and she flashed a small, melancholy smile as she slowly pulled her finger away.

"Just…promise me you won't ever forget." She whispered, in a voice so soft that Phil could barely hear it over the whistling of the wind.

Suddenly her arms were around his neck again as she embraced him, so tightly that he could barely breathe, and he wrapped his arms around her in one final hug. He nodded as Keely buried her face into the crook of his neck, silent sobs wracking her body as her tears soaked through his shirt in merely seconds. "I won't," He whispered firmly, even as his eyes glassed over with unshed tears. "I swear I won't."

The sun finally cast its last rays of light as it disappeared beneath the horizon, turning the sky a deep crimson red-orange as the two friends broke apart. The wind kept at its steady flow, rushing through the trees and rippling across the water, continuing on its way as Phil turned and slowly walked in the other direction...never looking back.

Keely watched through shimmering tears in a heartbreaking silence, wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to bring a comfort that didn't quite fill the spot completely as memories flashed before her eyes, switching in and out with reality as Phil began to gradually disappear from her sight.

_He was helping her with her Algebra homework by using celery sticks, and they danced to folk music as if nothing else really mattered…then he was telling her that he was from the future and taking her on an exhilarating adventure through the skies…_

It was only a year or so ago that they had met, and yet, there were so many moments that she could recall…

_They were lounging at his house just like every other day after school, tinkering with gadgets and goofing off just for the heck of it…never really needing anything but each other to make the best out of life…_

All those special moments in time that only lasted a few seconds but were always kept cherished forever…those small moments that made up everything in both her life and his…

_She was gazing at the stars in his backyard in content with her head on his shoulder, both of them seemingly without a care in the world…her eyes sparkled in the moonlight, and he was completely blown away by her outer radiance…_

And then he was gone…

Keely turned towards the lake and lowered herself to the ground, pulling her knees to her chest as the wind gently blew her tears away. Lifting her head to the sky, she sighed, a sad smile playing on her lips as her eyes fluttered closed.

'_Somehow, I think I'll always be here waiting for you, Phil…'_

And her dreams swept her away.

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**A/N: ohmigod...this story just took a HUGE twist! i seriously did NOT see it coming, i actually just came up with everything as i went...so hopefully you guys still enjoyed it. well, i think we've almost reached the end of my story, im very sad to say...i think there's just one chapter left to type up. you guys might just hate me for making Phil leave, but remember that IM NOT DONE YET! there might still be hope for him, im not sure...anyways, please review on this chapter! feedback is GREATLY appreciated...thanks again for always coming back to read! i seriously love you guys, you all make me want to write more! tune in for the final chapter then! luv ya! **

**-:jaime:-**


	21. Transcending Through Time

**well, after half a year or so and many, many chapters (plus three of those dreaded authors notes that everybody hates), its finally...over. i just wanted to take up some space here to thank every single one of you guys who took the time to read and review my story. i truly appreciate it...you guys seriously dont know how much it means to me to have so much support on this. in fact, ive just reached 200 reviews, its _unbelievable_! im just simply...amazed. this final chapter is dedicated to all of you guys...there was something about it that didn't quite fit right with me, but hopefully its turns out great for you. enjoy!**

_**If Only You Knew**_

**Chapter Eighteen: Transcending Through Time**

"SPRING BREAK, BABY,_ HERE WE COME!_"

Via groaned and hid her face in her hands as Owen dramatically burst through the school doors and loudly inhaled the outside air, a wide grin plastered on his face. Keely raised an eyebrow in amusement, and the two girls watched as the teen sprinted down the steps with his arms flailing wildly, creating a spacious gap between him and the many frightened students below.

"Owen, it isn't the end of the world!" Via yelled in irritancy, eyebrow twitching slightly when Owen began chasing after a random girl to hug her in his glee. "Have some decency for once in your life, and _leave the poor girl alone_!"

Keely rolled her eyes and laughed, folding her arms across her chest as Owen stopped abruptly to flash a smile in their direction before running off again, spotting another potential target to hug. "Are you sure it's not because you're _jealous_, V? You know Owen wouldn't _really_ go after another girl like that, he's just happy that school's out!"

Via scoffed as the two began to make their way down the steps. "Jealous? Of course not! I'm just making sure he doesn't actually _harm_ anyone in his 'ceremony of Spring Break' or whatever it is he's doing!"

Owen's figure suddenly flew past them in a rush of wind, and Keely's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow. He can cartwheel? I didn't know that."

For a moment they stood in stunned silence, watching the hectic scene unfold in front of them, before Keely finally turned and opened her mouth to speak. "Via, tell me again…_why_…you're going out with him? I mean, of all the guys t---"

"Don't even ask," Via cut in simply, reaching out and swiftly grabbing a hold of Owen's arm before he could go another round. "Owen, would you _please_ just calm down?"

"Do I get a prize if I do?" He asked with a hopeful grin, nudging Via's side eagerly as Keely tried her best to suppress another burst of laughter.

Via stared blankly at Owen for a moment before turning to Keely nonchalantly. "So what do you want to do now, Keely? Mall?" Keely giggled, shrugging her consent, and the two began to walk along the sidewalk towards the parking lot, leaving Owen to chase after them with a loud, "_Dude_!"

"Don't forget that _I'm_ the one with the new car, ladies!" Owen panted as soon as he caught up, and Via rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Owen, and now we can enjoy the luxury of going deaf as we drive to the mall with your so-called _rock_ music blaring in our ears," She replied dryly, and Owen gave a sheepish grin. In spite of everything, though, Via smiled warmly and slipped her hand into his, losing her usual sarcastic tone almost immediately.

"But it's always nice to catch a ride instead of walking in heels."

Keely's eyes softened at the comment as she observed the couple ahead of her with a small, almost sad smile. The two began to bicker back and forth about something unimportant, Owen seemingly enjoying himself as Via continued to scold him about behaving in public---"Especially at the mall, Owen, you can't treat it like it's an amusement park, for heaven's sake!"

He blinked and looked down at her, feigning ignorance, and she narrowed her eyes and smacked his arm as he burst into laughter, but Keely swore she could see a ghost of a smile playing on Via's lips as she took off into another one of her lectures...

Even though she desperately tried to fight against it, faded memories slowly inched its way into the back of Keely's mind, memories that she had refused to let go of…no matter how much it hurt. She remembered moments similar to this...all those times she'd drag Phil to the mall no matter how much he'd complain... he secretly enjoyed it, though, and she knew it...

The way he'd make those lame jokes to try and annoy the heck out of her and come between her and her shopping spree...how she'd playfully punch his arm before yanking him into yet another store to try on who-knows-how-many more outfits she probably wouldn't even buy...it was just another day...just another excuse to spend time with the boy of her dreams...

For a split second, a warmth engulfed her entire being, and he was standing right next to her once more, smiling, like he had never left…

But as soon as it had come, the warmth was gone.

And suddenly, she couldn't have felt more alone…

'_...Phil…'_

Via glanced back when the footsteps behind her stopped abruptly, and she cocked her head slightly and halted as well, pulling Owen along with her. "Keely? What's wrong?"

Keely pulled out of her reverie and blinked, staring at her two friends blankly. Catching the concerned expression on Via's face, her eyes widened in realization before quickly reverting back to normal, and she flashed weak, reassuring smile even as her vision unexpectedly clouded over. "Oh, it's nothing. Just...thinking, I guess."

Via's sharp senses picked up on her wavering tone almost immediately, and her eyes softened in sympathy as she glanced down at her and Owen's intertwined fingers then back up to her best friend. "Okay…are you still up for the mall, then? Or would you like Owen to take you home?"

_Home…_

In these past few months, Keely realized, she was more than grateful to have two such great friends in her life. The ones who were always there to hold her up when she seemed to be falling apart, especially since _he_ wasn't there to keep her together anymore…

Of course, it would never be enough, and she would probably never be the same again, either. But it was enough to keep her going…and that was all she ever really needed.

She'd have to find a way to thank them one day.

Gazing up at the sky, Keely let out a small sigh before turning to Owen and Via with an apologetic smile.

"Actually…there _is_ somewhere I'd like to go."

----------------------------------------------------------------

Weaving through various bushes and trees that suddenly seemed all-too familiar to him, a boy steadily made his way through the uneven path as the bright, intense sun began to set beneath the horizon. Glancing up at the sky and hoping he wasn't too late, he quickened his pace up the rocky terrain without a single misstep, hauling himself over the ledge and sprinting across to the other side.

He had to know.

He skidded to a stop just before the drop-off, his breath coming out in short, harsh puffs of air as he brought his gaze up from the ground to look out at the spectacular view in front of him. Eyes widening in complete shock, he could only stare on in disbelief.

One hundred years later…and it still looked just as magnificent as ever.

He smiled at the irony of it all. When he had come back, everything he had once known in the past was completely…different. No more small, quiet suburbs, no more breathtaking nature in the comfort of your own neighborhood, no more bustling schools, no more thriving, open wildlife…

And yet, somehow, the one place he thought was most important, the one place that he thought would change the most if it was ever discovered…was completely…

Untouched.

He could only shake his head in awe as the light, warm wind brought back so many memories from so long ago. Gazing at the glittering lights as they danced on the surface of the vast lake, he lowered himself to the ground and allowed the wind to once again engulf him in his recollections…of her.

"Hey! How'd you get up here?"

Stifling a yelp, he shot up off the ground, startled, and spun around to face a girl around his age with dazzling emerald eyes and dark brown hair. "Wha? I was just---I didn't---"

She narrowed her eyes in suspicion and stared at him for a long moment before shrugging it off, deciding not to bother about it. "I thought I was the only one who knew about this place…but I guess I was wrong." She walked around him and smiled at the scene in front of her with a faraway look in her eyes as he stared at her in wonder. There was something about her…

"Awesome, isn't it?" The girl suddenly turned around to face him again, motioning towards the sunset behind her with a grin. "You definitely don't ever see this sort of thing anywhere else in the world."

He nodded, coming up to stand next to her and shoving his hands into his pockets as she continued to stare at him, mystification and curiosity beginning to show on her face.

"Yeah…" He whispered, a reminiscent smile creeping onto his face as the vibrant rays of light sparkled in his eyes. "You really don't…"

They stood in silence as the sun continued to set, shining a brilliant glow on both their faces as each was lost in his or her own unknown thoughts and wonders. Another warm breeze blew through the trees, and then---

"Why does it feel like I know you?"

He turned his head and stared at the girl next to him in bewilderment. "Huh?"

She furrowed her brow in thought, trying to think of the right words to say as she continued to gaze out at the lake. "I don't know…it's just…I've come here ever since I was a little kid, and I've never seen anyone else up here…it's kind of like my own secret place, you know? And now you suddenly show up out of nowhere…but even though I've never even met you before…it's like I already know you."

She threw her hands up with an exasperated sigh and faced him, eyes scrunching together in deep concentration. "I don't know! It's like…like…"

It suddenly dawned on him, and he cracked a mysterious smile. "Like I've been here all along?"

The girl snapped her fingers in realization. "Yeah! That's it! Wait…how'd you know that?"

He chuckled, running a hand through his hair and causing it to stick out in strange directions as he stood there in awe. "Wow…I never thought anything like _this_ would ever happen…" He murmured, closing his eyes and lifting his head to the sky.

The brunette nudged him in annoyance, obviously still in the dark about everything that was going on. "Hello…what're you talking about? _What_ happened?" She folded her arms across her chest and fixed him with an expectant look, determined to find out just who this boy was.

He turned to her again and found himself lost in her glimmering eyes, and he shook his head in incredulity, still laughing quietly to himself as he took in her all-too familiar appearance.

"You know, you look a lot like someone I know." He answered simply, giving one last look at the sunset and the lake with before turning his gaze to the girl with his trademark goofy grin. "And I'm pretty sure you've met me before as well, though probably…not in the way you think."

He began to walk back in the direction he had come, and her eyes widened as her confusion deepened even more. "_What_? No, but I've never---hey, wait, where're you going? You're _leaving_?" She chased after him, and he turned to face her once more, the mysterious smile still plastered on his face.

"I wasn't supposed to stay here so long," He explained, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. "My family's going on…a permanent vacation, I guess you could call it." There was a distinct twinkle in his eyes as he said it, as if this was a secret only he could decipher…

"It was nice meeting you, though!" With a wave he turned to leave, but her voice stopped him before he could even take another step.

"Wait!" The girl hesitated, wrapping her arms around herself as the air began to cool down and the sun began to fade. "You could at least tell me your name, right?"

He grinned again, a heartwarming smile that seemed so familiar to her, but something she just couldn't put her finger on…

"It's Phil."

And before the name could even begin to register in her mind, he was gone.

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Wrapping her arms around herself for warmth, Keely slowly walked up to the ledge and stared out at the expanse below as the wind lightly ruffled her hair, bringing along with it a faint, distinct whisper of a ghost still lurking in the depths of her heart.

"…_I swear I won't…"_

She let out a soft, broken laugh as memories of that day came flooding back into her mind, completely overtaking her thoughts and refusing to be pushed away into oblivion, just like every other day she had come here for the past two and a half months…

Two and a half months since he had left.

Keely shook her head in disbelief as she ripped her eyes away from the lake and gazed at the sky, stubbornly blinking back the tears threatening to appear. Why was this still so hard for her? He was gone, he wasn't ever coming back, and the next chance she would ever get to see him would be over a hundred years from now, which was basically impossible. Why was it so hard to just…let him go and move on?

'_Because you still love him…'_

And ironically enough, the one place she had always relied on to help her forget practically…everything…was now the only place that held trapped memories of the boy she was so desperately trying to forget.

No…she would never be able to forget him. She knew that from the moment he had walked out of her life, and she knew that even now. Deep down, no matter what she tried to convince herself of otherwise…

She'd never let herself forget the one person that ever truly mattered.

In time, she'd slowly pick up the pieces, one by one, and move on with her life. In time, her heart would heal, though she doubted that it would do so anytime soon. But she'd never forget.

Never.

The wind continued to blow its quiet sighs in her ear, and whispered words tumbled out of Keely's mouth even though there was no one there to respond. Somehow, though, she felt that he could hear her, even though he was a hundred years away…

"I'm trying to be strong for you, Phil." She tucked a loose strand of silky blonde hair behind her ear as the wind blew it across her face and let out a short, bitter laugh.

"But I hope you know that it's a lot harder than it looks."

The soft crunch of rustling leaves sounded behind her, but she paid no attention to it, too absorbed in the moment to even glance around as she dropped to the soft earth, lost in her own world of swirling reflections.

It was actually kind of funny, how irony always seemed to play such an important role in her life…

Just when she thought she had lost all hope in ever finding love, he had shown up out of nowhere and swept her right off her feet without even realizing it.

For more than a year he had been standing right in front of her, the loyal best friend who always seemed to know her more than she knew herself, the one who always held her up when she seemed to be falling…the only person she'd run to whenever something went completely wrong for whatever reason…and she hadn't even realized that _he_ had been the one for her all along.

And when she finally did…it had already been too late…

With a crestfallen sigh, Keely pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them protectively, unshed tears blurring her vision and meshing the scenery in front of her into one brilliant swirl of smooth greens and blues.

"If only you knew how much I love you, Phil…" She whispered, so softly that it quickly dissipated into the warm drafts of air flowing around her, seemingly forgotten...

Maybe it was just their destiny. Irony was never meant to be taken lightly, right?

A quiet chuckle escaped into the air, breaking the serenity that had long since taken over her surroundings…but it wasn't hers.

"Trust me, Keel…I already knew."

She instantly went rigid as her eyes widened in shock, and her heart dropped into her stomach with a soft _thump_. She had to be delirious, there was no way she had just heard that, it was _impossible_…

Slowly, as if she was being pulled by an invisible force, Keely lifted herself off the ground and turned, heart beating erratically out of control as the wind whistled softly in her ears, leading her towards the familiar voice that had haunted her dreams for so long…

A deathly silence fell over the hidden valley as the wind ceased into a calm, allowing just a moment for her to take in the boy standing just a few feet away, his warm, chocolate eyes gazing at her as if he was truly looking at her for the first time…as if he had never really been gone…

And suddenly, she couldn't breathe.

"…_Ph-Phil?"_

He grinned, and within moments she was falling into his arms, completely overwhelmed by disbelief and happiness…the tears finally fell, and one by one the pieces came together in her mind to create a realization that couldn't have made more sense….

In the end, when it all came down to it…

Maybe irony wasn't so bad after all.

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**A/N: well…this is it, then. um…was it okay? i feel like i ended it so abruptly, but i really dont know. anyways, its been a blast, guys. thanks for _everything_! much love, as always…and please don't forget to review! until next time, hopefully…**

**-:jaime:-**


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